Lifesource
by LittleMewLugia
Summary: When the Decepticons find out from Jetfire about Sam having the AllSpark and constantly leaking it's power, Jetfire and Starscream hatch a plan that requires them to kidnap Sam. Sequel to "Midas Touch." Minor suggested slash at the end.
1. Chapter 1

Lifesource.

Summary: When the Decepticons find out from Jetfire about Sam having the AllSpark and constantly leaking it's power, Jetfire and Starscream hatch a plan that requires them to kidnap Sam. Sequel to "Midas Touch."

Continuity: Movieverse, post second movie.

Rating: Probably T, but M for safety.

Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Hasbro and Dreamworks/Paramount. I make no claim to ownership of the characters or franchise, I make no material profit from writing these.

A/N: The idea for this comes from an idea suggested for one of my other stories by SeasonSinger. Although it's slightly changed, it kind of works to make this sequel happen. So, if you want to thank anybody for this sequel's creation, SeasonSinger should be given a good dollop of credit for this. And yes, I'd like a better title for this. Ideas, please?

Lifesource.

Prologue.

Starscream was woken from a pleasant dream of his younglinghood on Cybertron by a voice he never thought to hear speak again.

"Wake up, you young layabout! So this is what the Decepticons have become? Not just a dishonourable bunch but lazy too! Hah, I should've stayed with the Autobots, but they said I should find out what the current Decepticons are like before deciding!"

Starscream almost went straight from reclining to standing at the voice, but managed to get up with some dignity, glaring up at the ancient Jetfire, who was leaning on his cane and glaring right back at him. Silence ensued as the two glowered into each other's optics, nether willing to back down.

What broke the stalemate was Skywarp, who appeared nearby, did a double-take, and then walked over to the bigger black Seeker, tapped him on one thruster, and said "Pardon me, I don't mean to be rude, but I thought you were dead."

Jetfire turned to look down at the young Seeker, raising one hand to his intact chest. "Do I _look_ dead?" he asked.

"Starscream said that you tore your own Spark out, that Optimus Prime used your parts as you had asked and defeated the Fallen," Skywarp said, looking a little cowed at Jetfire's attitude and very confused. Jetfire blinked, looked at the nervous young Seeker again, and relented.

"Yes, that I did," he admitted, "and I was dead and deactivated, but it seemed the power of the AllSpark saw fit to restore me to function. It seems I may yet have some useful function to perform,"

"And that would be what, precisely?" Starscream asked sarcastically.

"Well, I don't yet know, but I'm alive, so there must be a reason," the old Seeker retorted.

"Wait a minute," Skywarp said, looking even more confused. "You say that the power of the AllSpark restored you, but the AllSpark was destroyed in Mission City, so how can that be?"

"Well, it seems the fleshling boy has somehow absorbed the power, but he can't contain it, I think it's something to do with the fact he _is_ a fleshling. Anyway, it seems he leaks the power out unless he stores it in devices they have for him to discharge at the Autobot Base, because if he doesn't, it discharges and brings everything around him to life. Anyway, he used it in Egypt to being me back, so you won't hear me complaining, and here I am!"

"Of course!" Starscream whispered. "The fleshling boy was holding the AllSpark, if it was to transfer to any other them Megatron, he would be the logical choice. Except for one thing: he's a fleshling, an organic, a human." He looked rather hurt. "Why would it go to him when it had better, mechanical forms to go to? There was me, there was Optimus Prime, even Barricade or Bumblebee would make a better choice than a human."

"Well, why don't you go and ask it?" snapped Jetfire. "I'm not complaining, the young snip used the power to revive me, he seems to be fair at least, he's talking about reviving that Cassette of Soundwave's, Frenzy was it? He's already brought back that little silver pest Jazz," he grumbled. "He hid my cane, he did, made me search everywhere for it, till Ratchet told me it was stuck to the ceiling if his medbay. Pah! It wasn't stuck very hard but that's not the point! Hah! Young mechs these day, they have too much energy, in my day they'd have been put t work, real work, where they could exhaust their youthful energy doing something useful!"

Starscream let Jetfire rant, the germ of a plan forming in his mind. "So, the human boy has the AllSpark in him but he leaks does he? Maybe we can use that to our advantage? Maybe he can EnSpark the machines of this world, or create new lives to swell the ranks of the Decepticon army and give us what we need to conquer this world! Yes, why don't we? Come on, Jetfire, join with us again, help us. With your help we can achieve this! We'll catch the boy and take this world as our own!"

The look Jetfire turned on the smaller Seeker was withering.

"You really can't think bigger can you?" he asked. "For a start, this is not our planet to take, not really, and the Autobots will defend the right of the indigenous intelligent species to live here in peace, and as it happens, I agree with them. No, the boy with the AllSpark could do so much more if you only opened your optics and looked further, thought bigger! That's the problem with both you and Megatron, just overthrowing the Autobots was not enough. You wanted to overthrow them, enslave them, and now you want to enslave this world. Tell me, young Starscream, why have the Decepticons gone from opposing the oppressive Autobots, to trying to emulate them?"

Jetfire's accusation was like a slap in the face to Starscream. He opened his mouth to issue a tart rebuttal, but when no defence presented itself, he shut it again.

"See, no reply, because you know I'm right. However, that does not mean our kind should go to rust on this backwards world, no, not when the AllSpark is present and we know it's whereabouts. Now, are you ready to listen to my idea, or shall I just leave you to it?"

"No, please, tell us your plan," Starscream whined, wondering where Jetfire was coming from. The others joined in with his pleading, not to be outdone.

So Jetfire told them his idea, and where he thought they could play their part in it. He fired up his small audience with hope and with stirring remarks, then told them the idea and what it would entail, but then what their reward would be.

In the silence that followed, Starscream spoke.

"It really might work. How can it not work? The humans are rid of us, the boy gets some respite, and we get what we want. How can it not work?" Starscream asked the rest of them what they thought, and they agreed.

"Very well, we'll head for the Autobot Base and the boy's home, and we'll wait for him to make an appearance, unguarded, unaware." He made a grabbing motion with one hand.

"Then we'll get him!"


	2. Chapter 2

Lifesource.

Chapter One.

In a certain house in Tranquility, Nevada, a certain young, eighteen-year-old human boy was blissfully unaware of the discussion that had taken place in the Decepticon Base two months earlier. In fact, he was deeply and happily asleep, for despite his Dad's plans for a home cinema, Sam's occasional need for the room, at least at the moment, had been taken into account, and not only was there a new computer upon the desk, but there was a brand-new sofa-bed in place of his bed, which was just as comfy to sleep on.

Bumblebee no longer had anything to worry about at Sam's house after the assistance he had given in Egypt, in fact Ron and Judy seemed more concerned when he was gone for any protracted length of time. It seemed the odd hole in the garage wall and the odd flattened hedge was worth the protection they perceived he could provide from marauding Decepticons.

Bumblebee, for his part, was doubly alert, for the Decepticons had proved in Egypt that they would happily use Sam's parents to try and exert leverage on Sam. He never wanted Sam put in that position again, and had arranged for Cliffjumper to guard the Witwicky house and its occupants once Sam had gone back to college.

It wasn't too long later that Sam woke. Sam was not the sort of person to lounge in bed, so after a few minutes of throwing some basketball hoops while listening to the radio, he headed downstairs and made himself some breakfast. Once he'd finished eating, he headed outside to say hi to Bumblebee, by stroking his bonnet and cuddling his radiator.

Bumblebee responded by playing the chorus of 'Sunshiny Day' and flashing his headlights at Sam.

"So, you wanna head out to the Lookout and stretch your legs today, buddy?" Sam asked, for when he wasn't at the Autobot Base, Bumblebee got few opportunities to go into robot form. Bumblebee played twelve bars of the "Wedding March" followed by 'Sure do!' from a show that must have aired when Sam was either too young to recall it, or not in existence. However, Sam didn't need to know the show to know from that response that 'Bee would relish the chance to stretch his legs, literally.

"Give me a few minutes, buddy, and we'll go. Do you mind if we pick up Miles on the way?"

'Can do,' one of Bumblebee's MP3 recordings said, and he flicked open his driver's seat door, inviting Sam to sit down in it. The human boy recognised the invitation for what it was, and got in. He stroked his hands over Bumblebee's dash, mentally reminding himself to get some more of the wax leather polish 'Bee liked Sam to polish his dash and seats with.

Sam got back out, in order to pack a small knapsack with a few things in before he dressed properly, and had checked he'd not forgotten anything. A quick phone call to Miles had the other, younger boy getting ready, and Sam got into 'Bee and said "Okay, let's go."

With a quick 'Dukes of Hazzard' horn toot, Bumblebee kicked up some dust on the Witwicky drive and headed for Miles' place. Miles knew about the Autobots, and the Decepticons, from Sam and Bumblebee, Sam having invited Miles to the Lookout several months ago, with the intention of letting Miles see Bumblebee in robot form. Sam had assumed Miles would freak at the sight of 'Bee in robot form, and had been all ready to rugby-tackle him to the ground and explain he was friendly for as long as it took. However Miles, upon seeing 'Bee turn from a cool car into a sixteen foot robot, had actually taken it really well. "If he's friendly, that's cool," he'd said, awed but still able to talk.

Miles, with the poise of a diplomat three times his age had turned to face the yellow scout, opened his hand palm-out, fingers spread, and said "Welcome to Earth, Bumblebee. It's good to see you in a form you're more comfortable with. Is there anything else I can do, although my resources are limited, to make your stay on our little planet more pleasant?' Bumblebee had assured Miles that he was as comfortable as he needed to be, and it was then that Miles had lost his diplomatic poise and began asking loads of questions.

Bumblebee and Sam had answered most of them between them, and by now, repeated exposure to the yellow Autobot scout, both in alt and robot form, had reduced Miles' initial awe to manageable levels. Miles and Bumblebee actually got on quite well, something Sam was pleased about, if a little jealous that he was no longer 'Bee's only male human buddy.

When Sam knocked at Miles' door and asked Miles if he wanted to come to the Lookout with he and 'Bee, despite the short notice, Miles agreed. He took five minutes to grab some stuff he wanted to bring and shove it in a knapsack, and then climbed into the passenger seat. He patted 'Bee's dash and said "Hi, buddy, you okay there?" Bumblebee flashed his dash lights and flickered his dials to show that yes, he was, and then Miles pulled the door shut.

Asking 'Bee to pull up their favourite listing of tracks to play for them, Sam lightly put his hands on the steering wheel, looking like he was driving, although the real driver was 'Bee. Sam would only ever try to take over the steering in some sort of dire emergency if 'Bee couldn't, for he tried to imagine how he'd feel if someone else controlled his movements and the direction he went in, and how fast, and decided he'd hate it. Sam was not about to inflict that situation on somebody he counted amongst his very best friends.

Bumblebee put on the music softly and steered his alt out of the drive and onto the road. He speeded up a bit, then when they turned onto the road heading for the Lookout, he cranked up both the speed and the volume, the two boys inside appreciating it with whoops.

When the scout got to the Lookout, the two humans were quick to remove themselves and any of their stuff from the scout in alt so he could transform at his leisure. Bumblebee was a careful mech however, sweeping the area with a scanning beam before doing so to ensure the coast was clear. Sam and Miles were not the only humans to have found the Lookout, and it was a popular destination for dog walkers, courting couples, and underage drinkers. Finding the coast clear, Bumblebee transformed and stretched.

Sam put up two of the portable canvas and metal chairs he kept in 'Bee's trunk and had taken out before the scout transformed. He and Miles sat down in them, and then Bumblebee folded his legs neatly so he could sit just behind them, and for a few moments the three looked out over Tranquility together.

"It looks so peaceful. It's kinda hard to think there's members of two factions of a robotic race down there somewhere, but there is," Miles said. As The Fallen had revealed the Cybertronian's – and specifically the Decepticon's – existence, and as the Decepticons had shown themselves capable of involving people close to Sam to try and get at him, Sam had told Miles everything he knew, including a lot of stuff that was supposed to still be classified. "Lennox would call it 'need to know' but as my friend, so someone who might be targeted, I think you need to know," he'd told Miles when explaining it to him.

Sam nodded. "I wonder how Jetfire's doing?" he asked. "Haven't heard from him since he went to give the Decepticons another try. Come to think of it, Decepticon activity's been pretty low too. I don't like it, makes me think they're up to something."

"I can call Jetfire if you like, Sam, I have his comm codes," Bumblebee said. Sam thought about it, and slowly nodded. It'd be good to find out what the crotchety old Seeker was doing with himself. As far as he was aware, the Smithsonian Institute had come to terms with the fact that one of their prize exhibits was gone, and had to get another Blackbird – this time it was not a disguised Seeker – on loan from another aircraft museum.

"Okay, do it buddy," he said, for he was sure Miles, who was a plane enthusiast, would enjoy meeting the elderly Blackbird. As 'Bee did, he quickly warned Miles, but the teen just said "His alt's an SR-71? Did you know that still holds the record for the fastest journey from New York to London? Cool!"

Bumblebee turned to Sam and said "He's on his way, he said he's looking forward to seeing you and your friend." At Sam's startled look the scout said "I thought it only fair to let him know it wasn't just you and me."

"Oh, right, no, that's okay, I was just wondering how he knew but yeah, it's cool," Sam said.

No sooner had the words left his mouth then Jetfire arrived with a bang at their location. Sam noticed the Seeker had obviously been improving his spacebridging technique: he appeared the right way up a few inches above the ground and landed with admirable finesse.

Woah," Miles said. "I can see what your alt is even in robot form but could I ask you a favour? Could you go into it so I can get some pictures? Just for me, please?"

"Well, hello to you too young fleshling," the black oldster said. As Miles realised the gaffe he'd made by not saying hello, Jetfire chuckled. "Relax, child, I didn't get through hiding out at the Smithsonian by being shy. Stand back, I'll need room."

"Child?" Miles queried as the three moved back. Old though Jetfire was, either his hearing hadn't suffered, or when Sam revived him it had restored that too, for once the Seeker was in plane form he answered back.

"You're younger than the young scout there. That makes you a child. In fact your whole world is younger than Bumblebee, all of you fleshlings are children," he explained.

"Well, if you put it like that, I guess I can't really argue," Miles said, fishing about in his pockets for his camera. "Oh, hold there please," he said, and spent the next ten minutes getting shots of the Seeker from all angles, even from atop his wings and in his cockpit. Sam had to admire Jetfire for his patience, for ex-Smithsonian exhibit or not, he was surely not used to being climbed all over.

"You're quite a cute little fleshling as it goes," Jetfire told him. "Tell you what, as a friend of Sam's you're a friend of mine. Would you like a flight? And I can't keep calling you 'fleshling', so if you have a given designation, tell me."

"Um I'm Miles, Miles Lancaster sir, and yes please, if that's okay, I'd love a flight!" the blonde teen said eagerly. Jetfire chuckled.

"Just call me Jetfire, child, or 'Grandpa Jetfire' if you must. I don't hold with all this standing to attention and sirring where it's not necessary."

"Um, okay Jetfire," Miles said as he eagerly slipped beneath the canopy Jetfire had opened to allow him entry. Sam smiled as Jetfire closed the canopy and then said "Please stand to the sides everybody, I'm gonna need to do a drop start but will need my engines warmed up first." He watched as Jetfire fired up his thrusters, then taxied to the edge of the Lookout. He tipped over the edge - and then began to plummet, nose down.

Sam cried out, his heart in his mouth, just as Jetfire vanished. Guessing what had happened, he looked up, as far away a dot appeared high in the air, dropped uncontrollably for a few seconds, then veered back up. That spacebridging ability was damn useful, Sam surmised, and he took a few photos for Miles' benefit.

A few minutes later Jetfire landed, and let Miles out. He was red-faced and excited. "That was great!" he cried. As he slid down onto Jetfire's big delta wing and then off the leading edge root to the ground, Jetfire asked "Would you like a try, Sam? While my thrusters are still warm?"

"Have you got enough fuel?" Sam asked.

"I flew from New York to London in under three hours with a leaky tank. I think the fuel I have should be sufficient for ten minutes, you know," he replied.

"Okay, why not?" Sam said. "Only chance I'm likely to get." Bumblebee lifted Sam to the big Seeker's wing while Miles got out his camera to repay Sam the favour he'd done him. As the Seeker's jet engines were still warm, the drop off the edge was so slight that Jetfire didn't even need to spacebridge to get aloft.

He flew with Sam for a few minutes, and then surprised Sam by saying, in a voice that sounded like he meant it, "I'm sorry, Sam."

"Sorry? What for?" Sam said.

"For this," Jetfire said, and then he spacebridged.


	3. Chapter 3

Lifesource.

Chapter Two.

"Woah!" Sam cried as Jetfire appeared in an area that Sam didn't recognise. "What are you doing? What's going on, Jetfire?" The big plane didn't answer, but swung around, and from the cockpit, Sam could see a strip of concrete that resembled a runway, which is what Jetfire was using it for, Sam realised, as the nose tipped down.

"What's this all about, Jetfire, you said I was your friend, so what's the deal with the kidnap?" Sam asked.

"It's complicated, kid, but I can promise you won't be harmed," the old Seeker replied. Sam felt two slight bumps as Jetfire's landing gear touched down on the runway, first the front wheel, quickly followed by the rear set. Then Jetfire showed how deceptive his alt appeared by executing a quick U-turn mid-taxi, and coming to a smooth halt not far from a building that was ether a warehouse or a hangar. Sam suspected the latter, considering there was also a runway, and guessed he was at one of the disused Military or private airfields that dotted the United States.

"So this is where you're hanging out now?" Sam asked, as Jetfire opened his cockpit so Sam could scramble out, which he did. "Why didn't you just, you know, invite me over?"

"Because it's more complicated, Sam, than bringing you over for a house warming. We've made a few preparations, a few enquiries, and it seems that you may be the last element we need."

As Sam backed off to let Jetfire transform, he said "We? Who's 'we'?"

"That would be us, Sam," came a familiar voice behind him. "And believe me, what we have planned may be safer for you. Or have you forgotten that Megatron, once he returns from space, is not likely to have forgotten his grudge against you."

Whirling around, Sam saw the familiar form of Starscream heading out of the hangar behind him. He spotted two other fliers he didn't recognise immediately behind Starscream, plus five other robots he did not recognise, and one that he did.

He began backing off, but then felt Jetfire's hands scoop him up. "Nobody's going to hurt you, fleshling, take it easy," he said.

"Last time I saw Starscream and Barricade, they were very much trying to hurt me," Sam pointed out.

"Things change, Sam, like circumstances and ways of viewing people, and none of us want to kill you now." Starscream said. "In fact, you may not only be the salvation of our people, but the saviour of two worlds!"

"Say what?" Sam said, confused and thinking that the last phrase sounded not just unlikely, but frankly blasphemous. At this point, Barricade stepped forward.

"Shall we show our guest how we have prepared for him?" the black and white frontliner asked, and then, to Sam's astonishment, fluidly dipped his upper body down low, executing an obsequious bow. Then he turned to lead the way back inside the Base. Even more unusual, Starscream, who usually would not be upstaged or bettered by anybody, turned to follow without even a tart rejoinder.

"Jetfire, what's this all about?" Sam stage-whispered to the old Seeker. Jetfire bore Sam in his carefully-cupped hands as the bigger mech followed the oddly-assorted entourage into the hangar.

"They know you contain the AllSpark, fleshling, and they wish to assure you that they respect that fact."

"How do they know that?" Sam said. "Not even all the Autobots are aware of that."

"Why, I told them, that's how," Jetfire said.

"You WHAT?" Sam squeaked in outrage. "Why did you tell them, Jetfire?"

"Maybe because he thought it unfair for the Autobots to keep the AllSpark to themselves, just as they tried to before the war," interjected Starscream. "Did you know that, Sam, that the Autobot nobles and Senators controlled access to the AllSpark, only allowing who they thought worthy to approach it? That the AllSpark Guardians were laid off with no explanation as the nobles tried to hide it, had to resort to scavenging to survive, and then were forced to take sides? Did you know, Sam, that the AllSpark had its own AllSpark Guardians, whose loyalty was meant to be only to the AllSpark? With no AllSpark to guard, what else could they do?"

"No, no, Optimus wouldn't do that," Sam said, startled and disturbed.

"But he did, Sam, Optimus did. Did he not tell you that he blasted the AllSpark off into space? It is true that at the time he was following directives laid down by Sentinel Prime, one of the worst of those in power, but he didn't even question those orders. However, we digress. Sam, we have prepared you a place, temporary it is true, but it's not as if you'll need much more."

He stood aside with a long-armed flourish as Jetfire set Sam down gently on his feet, and Sam found himself presented with a dais made from wooden pallets, covered with white cloth, and atop it some sort of seat, also draped in fabric, this time golden. He stood there for a short time, staring, until Jetfire said "Well go on then, sit down!"

"Is that for me?" he queried.

"Well, it's not been created for anyone else here," said Jetfire. Looking around at the assembled Decepticons, Sam slowly made his way up to the seat, which upon closer examination turned out to be an overstuffed armchair with a large piece of gold velvet thrown over it. Warily, he sat down in it, not sure what else to do, and was surprised when all the Decepticons silently dropped to a kneeling position.

Sam stared, not sure what to make of this, he wasn't sure if it was genuine or an attempt to embarrass him. After a few moments, Starscream stood, and said "Bearer of the AllSpark, what would you like? Food? Drink? Rest?"

Sam could detect no sarcasm or disdain in the Seeker's tone, so he said "Could I have something to drink?" He felt it was a fairly safe request, as it was something they had offered, and an essential requirement of his kind. As it happened, he was quite thirsty.

Starscream gestured to someone Sam could not at first see behind one of the bigger mechs, and a mech who looked like a thicker-set version of Frenzy came out to the front and bowed. This was not easy for the mech in question, for he bore in his hands a large metal jug. The mech put the jug down, then darted back out of sight, returning a few moments later with a mug. He bowed again, and then moved forwards with the mug, and poured the contents of the jug into it and then handed it to Sam. The human boy lifted the mug of clear fluid to his mouth and took a large, thirsty mouthful. Then he started to choke and splutter, for what he'd assumed to be water was obviously alcoholic!

"Was the vodka not to your liking?" asked Barricade anxiously.

"Vodka?" Sam cried. "I thought it was water! I'm not allowed to drink, I'm underage!"

"Would you like some water? Or maybe another soft drink?" Barricade asked. "I believe our doctor brought in some cola."

"Please!" Sam said. He didn't hear Barricade say anything, but a moment later a large brown mech came in, holding a two-litre bottle of cola between his fingertips. Giving a bow not quite as low as the others he put the bottle down in front of Sam, who retrieved it before the Frenzy-like mech could grab it and pour it into the cup that still contained vodka. The mech in question gave Sam a hangdog look but retreated.

The cap had already been loosened, so Sam twisted it off and drank straight from the bottle, taking several large swallows. Putting the bottle down, he looked around at the mechs, who had all now stopped kneeling.

"If I'm right, you are all doing this and being respectful because I have the AllSpark in me?" he asked. As they nodded, he continued.

"Does that mean I can ask for things of you that I feel are important, and that you will do them?"

"Of course," Barricade said, a slight cocking of his head to one side the only sign of surprise.

"My family, and my friends, Miles and Bumblebee. They'll be wondering where I am. Can I talk to 'Bee to let him know I'm okay? Or one of the Autobots?" he asked. He felt a bit dizzy but was that surprising, considering what he'd just been through?

A big blue and silver mech stepped forward. With the exception of Jetfire, Starscream, and the other two Seekers, he was the largest mech there. He knelt before Sam, opening his chest to bring out a headless body that he recognised. It was Frenzy. The large mech held out the small silver Decepticon's body, cupped in his hands, towards Sam.

Sam had been told that Frenzy's head, after the junkyard incident, had sneaked into Mikaela's bag, grown a new body upon exposure to the AllSpark, and then immolated its head with one of its own discs while fighting SecDef Keller, Simmons, Maggie Madsen, and Glen at the Hoover Dam. He had seen that self-same head repaired and mounted as a trophy by Simmons during the incident with The Fallen. This, he surmised, had to be the body left behind in the junkyard, probably brought, just in case, by Barricade.

"Sam-Witwicky-AllSpark," said the mech, whom Sam did not recognise. "On-Cybertron-AllSpark-could-heal. Recover-Frenzy?" The big mech moved his hands up slightly, then down again.

"I – I don't have a lot of control over the energy," Sam protested. "I mainly leak the energy, but I guess I can see if it can restore him. It took several hours to get Jetfire back and all his parts were available. I guess this one's a lot smaller, so I can try." Sam looked up at the mech, not recognising him as any of those who had ever attacked him on Earth."If I may ask, what is your designation?"

"Designation-Soundwave. Frenzy-Soundwave's-Cassette. Soundwave-Frenzy's-Creator."

Despite the odd third-person description of self the big mech used, Sam understood what he was asking. It was the plea of a parent for the life of his child. For the first time since finding out he housed the AllSpark Essence, Sam found himself wishing he _could_ communicate with the Essence without the need for a Sensitive such as Bumblebee. However, either the Essence felt the same way, or it had found a way to read Sam's emotions, for he felt the Essence trying to push to the fore, something he had only felt a few times. Instead of fighting it, he relaxed and allowed it to subsume his consciousness briefly.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

The watching Decepticions saw the fleshy on the makeshift throne seem to relax slightly, then his eyes rolled back in his head, and then he glowed a familiar blue, the same blue that used to shroud the AllSpark as it worked. Soundwave extended his hands, the body of his Cassetticon cupped gently, close enough so the squishy could touch the body, if he so wished.

It seemed that he did, for as the human glowed the electric blue of AllSpark energy, he reached out one pale pentadactyl hand and laid it upon the chest of the decapitated little hacker.

The blue glow spread to enclose the silvery body, and then motion at the neck, simultaneous with an increased brightness of the AllSpark energy, signified that something was happening.

As the group of Decepticons watched, metal seemed to well up at the neck and flow about it. This continued for several minutes, and then the metal seemed to separate and shift into angular planes and small moving parts. In four places the blue light seemed to pool and concentrate, glowing bluer and bluer, but then the light faded and the blue lights were revealed as Frenzy's optics before the shutters closed over them. As the Decepticons watched silently, Frenzy's head slowly re-grew.

It didn't at first move, but then all four of the little hacker's blue optics shuttered open and it said "What's going on? What you all staring at? Where am I?" Its optics shuttered and then unshuttered again and it said "AllSpark? Witwicky?" As the blue glow subsided and Sam's own consciousness became dominant, he saw Frenzy stand in Soundwave's hand, bow low, and say "Thank you!" Then it scrambled up Soundwave's arm, and dived head-first into the bigger mech's open chest compartment.

Sam felt incredibly tired, and it must have showed, for as he sagged in the velvet-draped armchair, Barricade took a step forward and caught his upper body gently in his big hand.

"Easy, Sam, you need to conserve your strength."

"Please, can I let somebody know I'm safe?" he asked.

"I have a secure connection to the Autobot Base. Sometimes Ratchet and I have subjects we must discuss," the newly-entered brown mech said.

"Very well, Dr Syn, take the human and let him reassure his Autobot allies," said Starscream. As Dr Syn bowed to Sam and extended his hands at floor level, Sam stepped into them. He moved Sam to one hand, picked up the cola bottle with the other, and took Sam through a grey door into what looked like a NASA garage but must have been Dr Syn's med bay, for it was not as different from Ratchet's own med bay, which also looked futuristic.

He was gently tipped onto a table, and then the Decepticon medic activated some switches, and Sam found himself looking at a camera showing Ratchet.

"Doctor? Oh yes, hello, is that Sam I see?" he said. Although the question seemed casual enough, Sam saw the flash of surprise in Ratchet's optics.

"Ratch, I've been kidnapped. I don't know why, but Jetfire brought me here when I thought I was just getting a flight." As Dr Syn gave him the bottle of cola, Sam took the top off and took a few swigs, his throat was feeling very dry. "So far, I've been treated well, almost too well, because they know I have the Essence. Otherwise I don't know what they want me for. Can you let 'Bee, Miles, Mikeala and my folks know I'm okay? I don't want them to worry."

"Don't worry, Sam, I'll let them know you're safe and that everything is being handled. If you can talk to me later, feel free to." As Ratchet's image faded, Sam drank more of the cola, feeling reassured. Ratchet had just told him, in code, that the Autobots would try and find a way to get him out. The medic picked him up, took him back to the main room, and put him down.

"Are you hungry, AllSpark-Sam?" Barricade asked. Sam began to say that yes, he was, but he suddenly felt dizzy and he could hear himself talking, his voice slurred. He heard the medic saying "Get him some pizzas, Barricade, and bring some bedding, he'll probably appreciate those when he wakes."

With a flash of insight, Sam realised there had to have been something in the cola. He tried to stand, but collapsed into a heap as his legs gave out on him. He tried to speak, but his voice was slurred beyond recognition. He heard the medic speak, bending close to talk into his ear.

"It's a long and confusing journey, Sam, involving several spacebridges. We felt it would be best if you slept through it. I apologise for deceiving you so."

He was about to reply when of their own volition, his eyes shut, and his mind followed his eyes into oblivion.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

When he awoke, he found himself lying down on a hard surface. Upon opening his eyes, he found himself looking into the faces of Jetfire and Barricade.

"What the Hell was in that Cola? Why was I drugged out of existence?" he demanded. As he watched, the brown medic hove into view.

"To answer your questions, Sam, I put Valium into that Cola, knowing you'd drink it at some point. If not, the vodka would have knocked you out. You were drugged to make the multiple spacebridging experiences less distressing then they might have otherwise been."

He put a hand under Sam, helping him to sit upright. The surface under Sam was hard and cold, and in places it was sharp, and as he shifted to get his butt into a more comfortable position, he looked over the debris field he was sitting on. At first it looked like so much junk, scattered over a matte metal surface but between the angles and lines he began to spot a finger, a hand, a leg, an optic..."

"Where am I?" he asked, sitting up as pieces of metal – probably pieces that once were parts of people, like OP and 'Bee - slid beneath him.

"This is our world, Sam, as you have probably never imagined it, Sam," said the voice of Starscream somewhere behind him. Starscream's voice spoke again, a flat, dead tone to it.

"AllSpark-Sam, welcome to Cybertron."


	4. Chapter 4

Lifesource.

Chapter Three.

A/N: The Autobot-centric Cybertron I am using is that of the Nerdene Hyrde, the online Transformers group I am involved with.

The corruption by Megatron of the Decepticon cause is a creation of myself and the writer MeowthTwo on this site, who helped me work it out. For us, it's the only way that things could make sense. The view of the night sky from Cybertron is from my own imagination and not based n anything in canon or fanon.

Lifesource, Chapter Three.

"Cybertron?" Sam repeated. "Optimus said the planet was destroyed by war." Feeling a slight pull on his arm, he looked down to see an intravenous line in his hand, secured to his arm with microporous tape. Angrily he undid the tape, carefully removed the needle, then screwed up the tape and IV line, throwing it from him.

"Yes, Sam, but he meant figuratively and culturally, for at the end anyone who could leave it did. However, the actual planet is still here, our cities and constructs are still here, dead and in ruins."

Sam looked up at Starscream, for the Seeker's voice was bitter and pained, something he'd not expected to hear in the vocal tones of the Decepticon Leader, but the view behind Starscream drew his eyes further up and out.

Cybertron must, Sam theorised, be situated in either a globular cluster or a satellite galaxy accompanying a larger one, for stars here were bigger and brighter and more numerous than those on Earth. There was obviously some sort of an atmosphere, for not only could Sam breathe, but the visible stars twinkled much like those on Earth did, but on a vaster scale, and at a slower rate. The stars gave this side of the world a sort of half-light, that could be either worked through or slept through, and Sam thought this, as well as their huge life spans, might be part of the reason that many Cybertronians, especially the larger ones, needed to recharge only once a week or so.

"Wow," Sam said softly, and if Starscream was angry at his distraction he didn't show it, but turned and gazed with him at the celestial jewellery box spread before them across the skies.

"We had a beautiful world, but greed and corruption caused conflict, and we destroyed the gift that Primus and Unicron created for us." Sam stared at Starscream then, for he had heard enough from Bumblebee, Optimus, and Ratchet when he'd unwisely asked, to understand that Primus and Unicron were the Cybertronian equivalents of God and Satan.

"Primus _and_ Unicron created Cybertron?" he queried.

"Why yes Sam, because they were opposites, and you cannot appreciate light without a darkness for it to shine in. Unicron was not, as some perceived him, evil as such, but chaotic. If you do not know chaos, how can you perceive order? If there is no darkness, how can light shine in it? We are all products of contrast and opposition. We all have a part of us given by Primus, and another part given by Unicron. We all have a dark side and a light side, but each needs the other to survive. Or is this not the same with humans?"

Sam gave the concept some thought, and as he watched Starscream, he nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we sometimes see change or opposition as evil, but with hindsight, it isn't always the case," he said. "Mom always says we need to change to carry on living, or we'll stagnate, but I guess it depends on the type of change. I guess we'd say that without despair or sorrow, we cannot know hope or joy."

"War seemed the only answer at the time, Sam but it destroyed the world we loved, and I cannot see how that could be good," Starscream said. "Are you hungry, AllSpark-Sam?" the Seeker asked, suddenly changing the subject. "We have pizza if you would like it. Dr Syn quick-froze it, we can have it hot and ready within two minutes."

"Yes please!" Sam said, only then realising how hungry he was. The box with his pizza in was set before him, and as promised, it was piping hot, although the cheese, having already been melted, made a suspicious, unpleasant-looking crust. That did not matter to Sam, for he was hungry, and only waited long enough for it to cool so it didn't burn his mouth before devouring it swiftly, wolfing down each slice as fast as his jaws could work. Starscream looked at him in concern, crying "Don't choke yourself, AllSpark!" but Sam ignored him until he had eaten the pizza. When a bottle of soda was placed in front of him, Sam looked at it suspiciously.

"Is that drugged too?" he asked. Starscream responded with a quick negative shake of his head.

"No, no, you're here now, so there is no need, but you need fluids to remain healthy and functional, do you not?" Starscream said.

"Yeah, but considering how you got me here, do you blame me for asking?" Sam said. Starscream tilted his head for a second as he considered Sam's question, and said "Well, I guess not, but I assure you, Sam, we do not forsee any reason to drug you in the foreseeable future."

Sam wasn't that reassured, not knowing what sort of timescale "the foreseeable future" spanned for the Decepticons.

As a chance to change the subject he asked "Well, where on Earth, sorry, I mean, where on _Cybertron_, are we? Or do you not know yourself?"

"Well, yes, Sam, actually, I do know where we are. We are in the northern hemisphere, in our richest and most capital city, known as Iacon." The Seeker stood, spreading his hand out to indicate the faintly-visible horizon that had wrecked buildings and statues jaggedly sticking up like so many broken teeth.

"In this city we had the Autobot Tower, where the most important Senators lived. And worked, for Autobot Tower was also the location of the Senate, rather appropriate, for due to corruption and cheating by certain members of the Senate, eighty per cent of the Senators were Autobots, which on Cybertron were the dominant class."

"But Optimus believes in freedom, he wouldn't _do_ that!" Sam protested, for Sam could not equate the corruption Starscream was describing with the eminently-fair Optimus Prime and the Autobots he knew.

"Perhaps not, Sam, several of his actions have led me to believe that your Optimus Prime may be something special, but you must remember that your friend Optimus was not in charge back then. Many vorns and vorns ago, a mech called Sentinel Prime was the one in charge of the security and economy of the entire planet. Unfortunately for everyone on the planet, he was one of the most egocentric, Autobot-centric, and armour-bound Primes we ever had the misfortune to have became our planetary ruler."

Starscream paused, and then continued. "Believe me, if Autobots and Decepticons had had equal voting rights, he would not have achieved the exalted position of Planetary Prime. Unfortunately, this particular Prime learned too well from his predecessors, who were almost as bad, but not entirely as bad, as he was."

"Sentinel Prime learned greed and corruption far too easily and took to it far too early, at least in terms of the rest of the planet's population. To explain fully now would take orns, which we do not have." The Seeker paused. "Had he been as open to negotiation as you are suggesting Optimus is, perhaps the conflict could have been averted, but Sentinel Prime was so intractable that in the end, armed resistance was the only option left to us."

Starscream's sigh did not sound to Sam to be contrived or exaggerated. "We saw war as a potential worst-case scenario if Sentinel Prime would not give way, that is true, but none of us thought that it was a real possibility, that Sentinel Prime would call our bluff," the Seeker explained. "However, when Sentinel Prime ordered us Seekers to attack cities that housed mainly civilians, civilians who had pledged themselves to the Decepticon cause to rid our world of Autobot rule and injustice, he left us no choice!"

Sam tried to imagine how he would feel if he found out that the U.S. Military, using their tanks, ships, and planes, had fired on US citizens exercising their right to protest, and felt very sick. He could, with that imagery, sympathise with the Decepticons.

"So what, exactly, was the Decepticon cause, at least to begin with?" Sam asked. "Did it involve enslaving our planet?"

Starscream, he noted, looked surprised at the question.

"Fleshling, we didn't even know your planet _existed_ when our conflict began. In fact, the time it would take to get from our planet to yours would take longer than the war has been raging if we had flown straight while searching for the AllSpark. It is only by the virtue of finding wormholes and folded space – which the AllSpark must have used itself - that we– and Megatron - found it on your planet when we did."

"So – why are you so desperate to subdue and enslave the Earth?" Sam asked."Unless there is something you're not telling us, it seems a bit pointless to me." Sam said.

Starscream made a rude sound with his thrusters, which echoed loudly as it bounced off the walls of the various ruined buildings.

"That was Megatron's idea, and we all just went along with it, we at first saw your species as inferior. Then, when you defeated us in Mission City, it made us more determined to crush humanity, to pay for the humiliation of being defeated by a lesser race. However, Megatron is not currently here, so I will choose not to continue to punish your people. All my Decepticons are here, so your planet should be relatively safe."

"Well, that's a relief I guess." Sam said. "But you didn't answer my earlier question: what exactly is the Decepticon cause?"

"Equality and fair treatment, Sam, that was the Decepticon cause." Starscream said. "Originally we just wanted to be treated on equal terms and have the same rights and opportunities as the Autobots. Megatron was a good leader at first, he inspired us and made us believe we could achieve what we wanted. He had achieved status as Lord High Protector, and he was one of us, he gave us hope."

Starscream sighed. "As Lord High Protector, he had access to the AllSpark, and one day he used a mechanical interface device to try and communicate with it. We're not sure if something in the device damaged his processors, or if Megatron had hidden from us all his yearning for power and domination of the Universe. What we do know is that from that night on, his ambitions were geared to claiming the AllSpark so he could use its power as he saw fit, to crush the Autobots entirely and use the AllSpark to shape the world as he wanted it."

Sam shivered a little: the knowledge that Megatron was still out there somewhere did nothing to allay his nerves.

"But why are we discussing Megatron now, when you are the best chance for our survival?" He lowered his hands to Sam in invitation. "Come, Although our world is far from at its best, I should show you around."

Seeing no harm in this, Sam clambered into the proffered hands.


	5. Chapter 5

Lifesource.

Chapter Four.

A/N: Sorry for the earlier mess-up of re-posting the last chapter. Please accept my abject apologies, and enjoy this offering.

Starscream lifted Sam carefully, holding his cupped hands with their human passenger up to his chest. From his crouched position, Sam could see out, and he held on as Starscream began moving across the uneven landscape.

Starscream's leg arrangement made his walk a quick, half-hopping movement, but for moving across rubble or jumbled terrain it actually seemed to be an advantage. He was able to jump over most piles of seemingly impassable rubble, and for the large areas, he seemed to know where to step that would not cause the whole pile to move unpredictably. Sam was grateful that Starscream's large splayed feet seemed to detect trouble before his actions would precipitate it.

The Seeker, Sam realised, was more agile than his figure suggested. Although his alt was Earthly, his makeup and parts were entirely Cybertronian, the technology of their bodies far in advance of the technology of humans.

"Was all of Cybertron destroyed?" Sam asked. "How did it happen?"

"Much of the built-up areas were reduced to rubble, for both our sides had weapons available to us," Starscream explained. "The Military power was distributed between the Lord High Protector and the Prime, as having all the military might in one pair of hands was seen as too great a temptation. Having all the military under one person might be more efficient, but could also create and inflame tensions, and an unequal balance of power. The hope was that a more even distribution might keep things balanced and less likely to precipitate a war. It was a way that had worked for vorns, - a vorn being equivalent to eighty three human years - but one simple change in our system changed all that." The Seeker's voice was sad.

"So, what changed?" Sam asked. "Why were things changed when they'd worked for ages?"

"It was all down to an attempt at a show of equality, a change in the rules that say only a Sensitive can attain the rank of Lord High Protector. The rule changed to allow non-Sensitives to achieve this role. Megatron ran for the position once that rule was lifted, and as a Decepticon with a legion of supporters, he won."

"And?" Sam asked, knowing what Sensitives were from Bumblebee, as his Autobot scout friend was a Sensitive himself. He could take a pretty good guess about the events that had transpired from something Starscream had spoken of earlier, but wanted the facts from the Seeker himself.

"Megatron wanted some control over the AllSpark. I mentioned how he used a device to establish a forced interface with the AllSpark. As I said, we do not know if something about the device, or feedback from the device, damaged his processors, or whether an existing desire to possess the AllSpark became too strong, but the AllSpark must have been asked to do something it objected to, for it screamed, a cry that woke every Sensitive on the planet." The Seeker screwed up his eyes and hunched his shoulders in what in a human would be a wince.

Sam stared, thinking of what it must have been like, and then he felt the Essence push, making him pay attention to certain information in his mind.

"Starscream, you speak as one who remembers what it was like, not one recounting an oft-told story. You winced just now, Starscream, you _heard_ that scream, didn't you?"

Starscream looked uncomfortable, and looked about to refuse to talk further, but Sam realised that for once he should use the power he held.

"Starscream, you know I have the AllSpark Essence within me, and you should know that at times it is able to tell me what I need to know, simply by making me re-examine information I have." Sam paused, then spoke again.

"By the wince you expressed in the telling of the story, you heard that scream, Starscream. Thus, I put it to you, that you are a Sensitive."

Starscream startled, looked about to deny the supposition outright, then seemed to recall who and what he held as he hopped over the rubble of streets and dwellings and monuments.

"Yes, I heard the scream, it is true, but perhaps I can hear but not speak to the AllSpark?" Starscream said. "Such partial Sensitives do exist, and perhaps I am one of them."

"Was there some sort of test?" queried the human. "Did you take it?"

"Of course I didn't!" Starscream said, the cold, sarcastic tone back in his voice. "I was only a Decepticon, not worth testing for an ability usually only looked for amongst Autobots."

"So you could be but you don't know?" Sam asked, to which Starscream only gave a curt nod.

"Well, if I am, it's a bit late now, isn't it?" the Seeker asked. Sam decided it was wiser not to push the issue. Starscream needed a bit of time.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

The Autobots assembled by their gate, ready to fight if need be for the human boy who not only possessed the AllSpark, but whom they called 'friend'. He had taken a great personal risk to destroy the leader of their enemy, whom all feared, and to save their exalted Leader, even though that same Leader had been fully prepared to give his own life to keep Megatron from using the AllSpark's power to enslave the Universe. The fact that he also leaked AllSpark energy was a secondary concern: he was first and foremost their friend and comrade-in-battle.

The location of the Decepticon's base had been suspected for some time, and a quick recee by Mirage had confirmed it. Attempts to communicate with the Decepticons had been answered with a deafening silence, and as a result, the decision to attack the Base to try and rescue Sam had been taken. The plan was to send Mirage to sneak in using his disrupter and locate Sam, and then the Autobots would attack and storm the Decepticon Base and keep all the Decepticons busy. While this was happening, Mirage could sneak out with Sam and get him to safety. He would contact the Autobots to let them know it was mission accomplished, at which point Optimus would call for a retreat. Even now they were waiting for Mirage to confirm that he had sneaked into the Base and located the human. He would tell them the situation and they would full-on attack on his word.

However, when Mirage reported back, the news was both unexpected and unwelcome.

"Prime, I'm in the Decepticon Base and it appears to be deserted. They were here, and there are items here that suggest a human was here, and recently. However, I have searched the Base and cannot find anybody, human or Decepticons." He paused a moment before continuing.

"I don't know where they've gone, but they're certainly not here anymore."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

"See, Sam, something of Iacon's glory does remain, the Great Dome still retains much of its glory, despite being damaged." Starscream gestured towards the building in question, which appeared to be made of a metal with a soft amber-gold hue.

Sam could see that at one time, the Dome must have been magnificent, but the scars of battle marred its surface. A large hole in one side disrupted the smooth curve of the top of the Dome, and around the edge, where a raised fresco of Cybertronians ran, there were melted pits and cracks. A rounded entrance, which must have been over a hundred feet tall was the only other thing disrupting the edge of the Dome. The doors were half-open, and must have been mounted on a cunning pivot system, for Starscream barely seemed to touch one and it swung open to admit him.

"Wow," Sam whispered as he noticed that the doors were several feet thick and also covered in designs and images. He gave an appreciative whistle as he noticed that alloys of different metals had been used to add colour. The doors were a darker shade than the Dome, almost an aged bronze colour,and against this background were brassy red tones, and coppery tones. Warm golden hues and silver colours shone, and steely bluish greys were used with relief to form patterns and pictures. He was startled when his whistle echoed back from within the Dome, and Starscream, seeing the expression on his face, gave a small laugh.

"Yes, the acoustics in the Dome have always been remarkable, it was said to be so that a single Sensitive in sung communication with the Cube could be heard by all," the Seeker said. "It is good to hear that the damage to the Dome has not destroyed that effect entirely."

The interior was murky, but light came in through the hole in the Dome wall, and Sam saw that the middle of the Dome sat over a vast dais, and he assumed that this was where the AllSpark had been set, and a rail of a similar material to that of the Dome itself circled the dais, with spaces at regular intervals. From the rails hung heavy drapes of what looked like fabric but were probably panels of metal, painted alternately red and blue, and decorated with swirls and glyphs of gold.

"Behold the temple of the AllSpark, Sam, the Great Dome of Iacon, where the Cube of Life was housed, and tended to by its Guardians," Starscream said.

"Wow, this is seriously impressive," Sam said, craning his neck to look at the designs that decorated even the inside of the Dome. He could see why Starscream had called it a 'temple', for there was a churchlike hush to the space inside the Dome, but Sam thought 'cathedral' might better suit this huge and intricate building. "What are the spaces up there for?" Sam asked, pointing at the gaps in the rail around the dais.

"Why, to allow the Guardians, or any thought worthy, to approach the AllSpark," Starscream said. "Most who came to have a sparkling body enSparked were not permitted beyond the barriers, by the orders of the Senators. Instead, the Guardians would take the sparkling shell at one of the entrances, and present the new Sparkling to the Creator at one of the others. It was seen to be a more orderly system, but many felt it was ay to keep the lower orders in their place, as those rich enough or powerful enough were permitted to approach the Cube itself, at a time when it was closed to others."

"And that?" Sam asked, pointing to a long, curving structure built along and almost all around the base of the Dome edge, its roof sweeping up to meet and seamlessly join the curve of the Dome sides. The long structure looked high enough to admit mechs of Starscream's size and bigger, with doors of suitable height dotting the side every fifty feet or so.

"You know, Sam, I have no idea," Starscream admitted. Turning towards the nearest door, he began walking forwards.

"Shall we take a look and see?"


	6. Chapter 6

Lifesource.

Chapter Five.

"Hey wait, how do we know it's not dangerous?" Sam asked.

"I doubt it, Sam there might be a few glitch mice or rats, but I doubt there'll be much more. If you prefer, I can scan for energy readings, but I assure you, the Great Dome is not likely to have been booby-trapped. The AllSpark's movement was well-reported, even if its new location was not, and neither faction were interested in the Dome once the AllSpark was moved from it."

"Scan, please," Sam said, and he watched as a green scanning beam jumped out from Starscream's optics and played over the door.

"No, it reads as perfectly safe, but I shall exercise caution," Starscream promised. He waved his hand over the sensor panel at the side of the door, and the door split down the middle, began to open slowly, and then stopped. Starscream put Sam down, gripped one edge of the door, and pushed. The door halves retracted into the wall slowly and noisily, and Sam saw several silver forms, as high as his knee, dash out and run into the shadows near the wall. Sam flinched back but they did not seem at all interested in him.

"Glitch mice, they're harmless," Starscream said, coming back over to pick Sam up again. "It looks like these rooms are storage areas, and maybe rest places, for the AllSpark Guardians."

He took Sam in, and some sensors in the room must have still had some power, for lights in the ceiling came on. Sam could see what appeared to be benches, and hooks, with blue and gold and red and gold items hanging from them. In a corner were long metal objects of various lengths that Sam could not identify.

"Are those cloaks or coats?" Sam asked, pointing to the items hanging from the hooks. Starscream moved forwards so Sam could feel, and indeed it did seem to be some kind of material, though thicker and heavier than any Sam had felt on Earth.

"They are ceremonial cloaks, the fabric made from a plant that grows on a far-away planet that contains organic life, although only of the plant variety," Starscream told Sam. "Due to the distance involved to acquire the raw materials, fabric was mainly used for special attire for special occasions, usually for the wealthy, but also for the Guardians of our life source. Thankfully the fabric is fairly hard wearing, so the cloaks were often worn by more than one Guardian over time." He sighed. "This cloth has been hanging here for longer than your puny human race has existed."

Moving over to the pile of metal objects, Starscream pulled one free. It appeared to be some kind of staff, with a representation of the AllSpark on one end and a sharp point on the other. He put Sam down on a handy surface and brandished the staff in front of him.

"Guardian's staffs," Starscream told Sam. "Although they were ceremonial, that didn't stop them from being functional." Grabbing two handgrips cunningly worked into the pattern running the length of the staff, he thrust the pointed end at empty air as if stabbing, then reversed it and mimed bashing someone on the head with the AllSpark-shaped top. Sam thought he'd finished demonstrating its uses but then Starscream let the top grip go and swept the staff at ankle-level for an average-sized mech.

"So the Guardians could stab, bash or trip up anyone up to no good?" Sam said.

"Yes, but it was very rare indeed that they needed to," Starscream said, "but as things became more unsettled, two attempts by armed mechs to reach the Cube were made, which is why the Senators insisted that it be moved to a secret location for its own safety."

"The Senators didn't trust the Guardians?" Sam asked.

"The Senators did not trust anybody outside their own circle, Sam, least of all the Guardians. However, each Guardian candidate was vetted by another Guardian, trained under a full Guardian, and at the end of their training they were presented to the AllSpark for final approval. I don't know how, but I did hear that if the AllSpark disapproved of someone, it could indicate so to both the mentor of the trainee, and the would-be Guardian themselves."

Starscream paused, then spoke again.

"The Senators either didn't know this or didn't care. They feared someone with designs on the AllSpark could get to it by becoming a Guardian. So they decided the AllSpark would be hidden, with no Guardians accompanying it lest the retinue be seen and its' hiding place discovered."

"And you told me what happened to the Guardians," Sam said. "Basically, they were sacked."

"They were not exactly sacked, but were on standby for its return, but without pay," Starscream said, and Sam winced. "A few joined one group or the other early on, but most stayed around and stayed neutral in hope. Many died through random conflicts while finding other modes of survival, such as scavenging. Once the AllSpark was launched off the planet, the Guardian network fragmented. Some went off as a group to search for it themselves. Other joined one of the two sides, while still others fled the planet, but leaving the AllSpark to its own devices. It may well be that some of the Guardians are still alive, but where and who they are, I could not tell you."

Starscream put back the staff, picked Sam up, and headed out, sending a quiet com to the rest of his mechs.

"You must be hungry and thirsty," he said to the human boy. "If we make our way back to the others, I am sure that there will be another pizza ready for you." As Sam's stomach rumbled, Sam nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds great, although I hope there will be a bit of choice later on, pizza's great but I don't want it all the time."

"Of course, Sam. Jetfire has gone back to Earth with Frenzy to get you more food and drink, I'll comm him to get more than just pizza," the Seeker promised.

Starscream took Sam back via the long way, for he had promised him a tour. He pointed out the shattered remains of Autobot Tower, where the senators had worked. He showed Sam what was left of the Towers, where the nobles of the city had lived. He took Sam into the ruins of the Iacon Concert Hall, where mechs had played music, acted, danced, and shown off other artistic forms for an adoring public. Sam was surprised when Starscream told him that the frontliner Barricade had played there.

"What? Barricade was a musician?" Sam asked, trying and failing to imagine the spiky mech delicately picking out music on a harp, or playing a violin.

Starscream laughed.

"You wouldn't think so given his appearance, but appearances can be deceiving. You must ask him to perform for you one day, I am sure that he would be honoured."

Sam was surprised to feel the Essence 'nudging' him: obviously it also thought that he should ask Barricade to play for him. Mentally agreeing, he also said verbally "Okay, if you think so, as long as he won't eviscerate me for impertinence."

"Of course he won't, Sam, you contain the AllSpark," Starscream said. Recalling the servile bow Barricade had given him back on Earth, Sam found himself less doubtful of the frontliner's reaction.

"Okay, I will," he said.

Starscream took him back to their camp, where Dr Syn and Frenzy were waiting for him with pizza and soda drinks. Sam was so busy eating and being waited on hand and foot that he didn't even notice the other Decepticons were absent. When Barricade did turn up at the camp, it was Starscream rather than Sam who asked the black and white frontliner if he would play the Bearer of the AllSpark an example of his music.

The two-tone Decepticon looked at Sam enquiringly and Sam nodded. Taking this as a request, Barricade removed from subspace an item with both graceful curves and sharp angles. The frontliner found a space to sit down, cradled the object in his arms, made a few adjustments, and then began moving his hands over it, and as he did, a haunting, unusual, but beautiful melody emerged. Sam sat transfixed and amazed that something so artistic could come from the hands of one who had previously only shown a talent for destruction. When the music slowed and then stopped, it was almost a shock.

"Th-thank you!" Sam said. "That was absolutely wonderful! What made you decide to stop being a musician and join the Decepticons?"

"When the war began, the music hall was closed, for after a while nobody dared to come out unless it was essential" Barricade explained. "While trying to flee Iacon to find somewhere safer, my instrument was dropped, and it was trodden on and broken by an Autobot. The damage could be repaired, but I can feel the break every time I play it. Although the Autobot paid with his life, the damage is still there."

Again, that 'nudge' from the Essence, and Sam heard himself ask "May I see it please?" For a moment Sam saw Barricade hold the instrument closer to him, but then he reluctantly lay it down in front of Sam.

"Don't damage it," Barricade said as he stepped back, and from the tone of voice Sam surmised it was as much a warning as a request. He stood and walked around the instrument, and pretty soon he found the damaged area. It was just a hairline crack, but even Sam could feel the slight roughness as he ran his finger over it. He didn't need the Essence to nudge him to move his hands over the damage, shut his eyes, and visualise it whole.

As Barricade, Starscream, Dr Syn and Frenzy watched, a blue glow spread from Sam's hands over the damaged part of the instrument. Perhaps fearing that Sam might be turning it into a living thing as he had with so many items on Earth, Barricade made an abortive move towards Sam, but the medic caught his wrist to stop him. As they watched, the glow faded, and as Sam moved away, Barricade snatched up the instrument, rubbing a thumb over the area of the break. He could no longer see the break, he realised, but he could no longer feel it either. It didn't feel as if Sam had repaired it, more as if he'd made the break go away as if it had never happened.

Turning and lowering the instrument, Barricade looked at Sam. Sam himself felt incredibly weary, and could only watch as Barricade knelt in front of him and bowed his head and body low. Nodding, he curled up on the ground hoping for a quick nap, and none of the Decepticons stopped him.

He was so deeply asleep that he did not feel Starscream pick him up from where he lay and cradle him carefully in his hands. He was oblivious as Starscream negotiated the rubble-strewn streets, and was still deeply asleep when Starscream reached his destination. He lay Sam down, and the human only mumbled something and sighed a little as he relaxed on the soft surface he had been placed upon.

When he awoke he was immediately aware that he had been moved. He could feel that although he was lying on a hard surface, he was lying on top of something that had been placed over the hard surface that made it softer and more comfortable. There was also some kind of thick, warm cover over him, he discovered as he tried to turn over.

"Hello?" he called as he pushed aside the heavy blue and gold thick material. As the echo of his voice came back to him, magnified yet still clear, he knew where he was even before he opened his eyes and looked around.

He was on the dais at the centre of the Great Dome of Iacon.


	7. Chapter 7

Lifesource.

Chapter Six.

He got to his feet and stood up. "Hey!" he cried. He heard a sound and then Starscream came run-hopping up the steps and came over.

"Did you rest well?" asked Starscream, crouching to bring his face down closer to Sam's level.

"What's all this about?" he asked. "I may have the AllSpark in me, but I don't want to be treated as an object, just stuck on a pedestal and expected to stay there. I'm a person, not a cube of metal without mobility, and I don't want to be treated as if I'm just a thing." He paused, then, recalling he was entirely at their mercy, said "Please?"

"Well, of course Sam, no-one said otherwise," Starscream said.

"Then why are we here?" Sam asked. "You said this was where the AllSpark was kept. I don't want to be treated like some inanimate object, I have a life of my own!"

"Amongst other things, Sam, this makes a perfect Base. Those rooms against the walls make good quarters for my mechs. This Dome is so high I can fly in here, and that hole in the top makes a perfect Seeker exit, although we'll rig a cover for in case it rains. Perhaps a hydrophobic force field, that will allow us entry but not the rain, which happens to have a low pH, so you'd be advised to avoid it."

"It's acidic?" Sam said. "Why?"

Starscream sighed. "Not all of our manufacturing processes were pollution-free, and although our world has not had industry working for a long time, some of the pollutants are still up there. It used to be far worse, but if we can wake the planet up, systems within will help clear the atmosphere, make the air clean again. We will not make the mistakes of the past, we will find a planetoid and manufacture there." Starscream paused and made an expression that was unmistakably a smile. "Cybertron will live again, and maybe we can make it a world where nobody is oppressed, and all are valued equally."

"Excuse me for being a sceptic, but just how are you planning on doing that?" Sam asked. "And don't say it's me, I can barely bring a mech of Frenzy's size to life without needing a long sleep, I think reviving a planet's a bit beyond me."

"Oh, no, Sam, we don't want you to try and recover Cybertron consciously, or by using your own energy, but this dais is made of conductive material that penetrates several miles down into the planet. Jetfire tells me, Sam, that you constantly leak this energy, that on Earth you have to discharge it into special collectors that Ratchet had built for that purpose."

It looked like, Sam surmised, that Jetfire had told the other Decepticons everything about him. He supposed that they should not have assumed that the ancient Seeker would keep the sensitive information he had become privy to to himself.

"Yeah, I guess I can see where you're coming from, but how long will it take?" Sam asked. "I can't just stay here, I'm gonna get bored. I'm gonna miss my family, and friends like Mikaela and Miles."

Starscream's optics dimmed. "Well, Jetfire has brought food, we'll go and bring it in. While he goes to get something that may help give you a head start, I'll see if he can find something to alleviate your boredom, something so that you won't feel so alone."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Jetfire popped into existence not far from the Autobot Base, glided down, and landed, eyeing Ironhide's raised cannons with disgust.

"Put them away, young mech, I've come to talk, not fight."

"Young mech?" Ironhide asked. "You sure you're not confusing me with Bumblebee?"

"Compared to me, all the mechs here are young," Jetfire replied. "And please, put away your cannons, I've just come to talk." When the cannons did not waver, Jetfire sighed, and crossed his wrists, holding them level with his neck. "Take me prisoner if you want, but we need to talk."

"Come in then," said Ironhide, moving behind him. "I'll take you to Optimus, as I'm sure he will want to know where Sam is and what you've done with him."

"Gladly," Jetfire replied. "I will tell him not just where Sam is, but why. And then, I shall be asking for his and Ratchet's assist."

"This I have got to see," Ironhide replied.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

"Cybertron?" Optimus asked. "Why take him there? The planet is completely dead."

"He leaks AllSpark energy, we are hoping that the overflow will be absorbed by the planet and bring it back to some sort of life. We are not sure how long it will take, but we know Ratchet has collectors full of AllSpark energy. If we can take those back, we are hoping that it might kick-start the process."

"How does Sam feel about this?" Optimus asked. "And for how long will you require him to stay?"

"Well, we haven't exactly asked him yet, but we will, once I got back. As to how long, I guess that's up to him, although at the moment he is safer there than he is here. Or have you forgotten that we're expecting Megatron back?"

"I suggest you do ask him. I can see where you are coming from, nobody wants Cybertron restored more than I, it was what I planned to do if we managed to save the AllSpark and take it back to Cybertron. However, I would not do so at the expense of Sam's own freedom. Go to Ratchet and ask him for the collectors, and watch where you are stepping, because there are some humans down there."

"Would they be Sam's friends, Mikaela and Miles?" Jetfire asked.

"Why?" asked Optimus, suspicious in spite of himself.

"Starscream has informed me that Sam is bored. Perhaps they could enlighten me as to what hobbies and interests he has," Jetfire explained.

"Sam may choose to come home," Optimus reminded the big black mech.

"I would like to ask him to stay for a month," Jetfire replied. "I hope he would not think that is too large a segment of his life. If nothing happens by then, we bring him back, and just collect the collectors every so often."

Optimus nodded, comming Ratchet to expect Jetfire and why. Ironhide took Jetfire down to the medbay and went back to guarding the Base in the gate house, telling the black Seeker to com him when he needed guiding back.

"Over here, I'll get you the full collectors," Ratchet said. Jetfire moved over obligingly, waving to the two humans who were sitting on one of Ratchet's work tables eating a bowl of noodles each. Mikes waved back but Mikaela just looked at him.

Ratchet moved out the collectors, and Jetfire put them in his subspace carefully.

"I will return to bring the empties back, and of course to bring Sam back within a month or earlier if need be. I shall, of course also keep you updated as to our progress if there is any." He paused. "May I speak to the fleshling younglings now?"

"I will ask the _humans_ if they'll mind," Ratchet said, trying to subtly remind the Seeker that "fleshling" was not an acceptable term, at least not to most humans. Ignoring the medic, Jetfire began making his way over to where Miles and Mikaela had finished their food and were standing up.

"Hey, Mikes, Mikaela!" Jetfire called.

"Hey Jetfire!" Mikaela replied with a wave. "Mind telling us where you've taken Sam?" The tone was casual but Jetfire had met Mikaela long enough to know that she was, despite the tone, deadly serious about this.

"He's on Cybertron, quite safe, don't worry about that, and he's being looked after," Jetfire told her. "He's a bit bored as well, which is why I wondered if you could tell us his hobbies and interests."

"So Sam will be staying for some time? Has he agreed to this?" Mikaela asked.

"He is currently being treated well, and I shall be asking him to stay a month. If he refuses, I shall, of course, return him," the ancient Seeker assured her.

"Um, well, he likes science and is interested in astronomy," Miles said.

"But it's not like he's seriously into anything in particular, I mean he reads books, but I can't think of a specific author he reads or a set hobby that he has," Mikaela added. "We hang about with him and I guess talk about the stuff we can't talk about to anybody else. Miles only knows because Sam decided that he needed to know in case the Decepticons attacked him while Miles was around."

"So, you'd say that when you meet up, it's not so much in the pursuit of a common interest so much as for the sake of meeting up, talking, and being together?" Jetfire asked.

"Well yeah, we're friends, and Mikaela's his chosen mate," Miles said. "We'd be considered a bit odd if we didn't meet up."

"Well, I can really only think of a couple of things I can get for Sam that would help," Jetfire said.

"What's that then?" Miles asked curiously.

Neither of them had time to dodge as Jetfire seized them, one in each hand. They cried out and struggled as he gently but firmly lifted them off the floor.

"Why, you, of course!" the Seeker said, and before Ratchet, who had turned round at their cries, could respond, Jetfire was gone in a bang of displaced air.


	8. Chapter 8

Lifesource.

Chapter Seven.

When Jetfire arrived, with two sick humans in his hands, Sam did a double take as the Seeker set them down, and said "Miles! Mikaela!"

"They'll stop throwing up in a breem or two, don't worry," Jetfire assured him, somehow managing to avoid the ejecta currently being voided from Sam and Mikaela's mouths.

"What do you mean 'don't worry'?" Sam said, running over to help the pair lie down, first Miles, who was worst, and then Mikaela. Unlike Jetfire, he was unable to avoid becoming splattered with some of Miles's and Mikaela's stomach contents. He beckoned over Frenzy, who was now out of recharge, asked for some water which Frenzy brought in a battered, blackened silver pitcher. Grimacing, Sam made sure that the pair were on their sides, wiped their faces with one corner of a Guardian cloak, and used the other to dribble a bit of water into their mouths.

The two groaned and, once they had stopped throwing up, pushed themselves to a seated position, although they still looked a little green.

"What happened to them?" Sam asked.

"That appears to be the effect of spacebridging long distances," Jetfire said.

"_I_ wasn't that ill!" Sam said.

"You were unconscious, plus we stopped for a short time between spacebridges when bringing you here," Jetfire said. When Sam looked at him confused, he said "Do you think I can spacebridge between Earth and Cybertron in one trip? Cybertron is in the mini galaxy at the far side of what you call the Andromeda Galaxy. I cannot cross that distance in one jump, Sam even I, the glorious Jetfire, have my limits! I did not stop for a rest with those, I wanted to get them here as fast as possible. Also, you were unconscious for your journey; when conscious it's always more disorientating, even for us, even with a rest, or without."

Sam tried to keep the image of a barfing Starscream out of his mind as he asked "Do the effects last long?"

"They shouldn't last too long," Jetfire said, just as Mikaela sat up and said "What the hell do you think you're doing, Jetfire?"

Jetfire turned to look at her, his red optics smouldering in his dark face.

"Why, I told you, Sam's bored, and from what you told me, only a couple of things will help him, that's you and the other human with you. Aren't you glad I brought you to be with him?"

Mikaela spat, then croaked "Water, my mouth tastes gross." Frenzy looked at Sam, and as Sam realised the small hacker was waiting for directions from him, something Sam was not used to. He nodded, pointed first to Mikaela, then moved his finger to point at Miles, who was groaning and retching.

The little silver mech must have understood his signing, for he took the pitcher first to Mikaela, who tried to shuffle back until Frenzy bowed obsequiously, then poured a little water on her hand. When Mikaela saw that it neither damaged her skin visibly, nor smelled odd, she took the jug from him, sniffed at it, and then put a finger in, wetting her lips with it. When she saw that nothing awful happened, she took a mouthful, swished it around her mouth and spat it out on the floor. She then repeated the action, and then took several deep gulps from the pitcher before handing it back to the spindly silver mech.

Frenzy then took the pitcher to Miles, who followed Mikaela's example, then stood shakily, his face two shades paler than his usual colouration. Starscream could tell that even Miles, with his Slavic-blond colouration was whiter than he should have been, and asked "Are you all right, human?"

"Do I look it?" Miles croaked, before doubling over and dry-retching a few times. He cast a glance towards Starscream, and then as his brain processed the images being received from his eyes, did a double-take.

"Wow, you're an aircraft too when in disguise, right?" Miles asked, his eyes opening wide. He stood upright again, wavering slightly, paused, and then turned to Starscream, bending at the waist. At first Starscream feared the human would be sick again, but as he straightened with no obvious signs of distress, the Seeker realised the young human was bowing to him. It was a polite bow, like an equal would give rather than an obsequious one like a being of lower rank, but Starscream appreciated the youngling's manners.

"Well, yes, I take the form of your country's most recent stealth craft, the F-22 Raptor," Starscream said.

"Wow!" Miles said with shining eyes. "That's really cool, I love all aircraft, but the F-22 is my favourite, although the European Eurofighter Typhoon is a close second, and my third favourite is the British World War Two fighter, the Spitfire, with its lovely elliptical wings." He paused. "Though your wings are lovely too," he said.

Starscream preened, stroking one of his hands over the edge of one of his own wings, even as he connected to the World Wide Web and looked up the other planes the human had mentioned. It turned out that the Spitfire was now obsolete as a fighter, being propeller-driven rather than a jet, although some still flew, owned by organisations and individuals, and Starscream found himself agreeing with the human that it had nice wings. The Eurofighter Typhoon, however, was a jet, a plane design shared by several allied countries in Europe, and he had to admit that if he'd landed there rather than in America, he probably would have chosen it as his alt.

"It seems you have good taste in aircraft, human, as well as an appreciation for fine wings when you see them, even out of place as they must seem when I am in robot form," he said.

"Miles, the one you're talking to has, in the past, shown no concern for us humans," Mikaela said sharply. "In Mission City, Starscream tried to kill us."

"I'm not trying to kill you now, in fact you're more valuable to us alive," Starscream replied.

"Well, I certainly _felt_ like I was dying when I got here, which brings me back to what I was asking Jetfire: why are we here?" Mikaela said.

"I told you a few minutes ago. Sam's bored and lonely, so we brought you here to keep him company," Jetfire said.

"You could have just asked, you know, we probably would have come at least for a visit, and could reassure our families," Mikaela said. "But having just kidnapped us like that, in front of the Autobots, it's gonna cause problems. You'll have the Autobots hunting for us and waiting for any of you return, and don't expect that friendly a response. For all they know, you could have killed us."

"Oh, well, I didn't know asking would get the desired response," Jetfire replied, unsubspacing the energy collectors.

"Well, why not take them back and arrange that, then we can reassure the Autobots and their human friends and family that they're okay. They can also get favourite clothes, games, batteries, music players or whatever to keep us all occupied," Sam said.

Jetfire hung his head. "If you say so," he said. Sam was surprised at Jetfire's acquiescence, not even an argument or a complaint about being put upon.

"Why have you brought Sam here anyway, and where is 'here' anyway?" Mikaela asked, although she had her suspicions.

"As you know, Sam leaks AllSpark energy," Starscream said.

"Yes, I do," said Mikaela, remembering the electrical-store incident with horror. Miles, who had been told about it by Sam, nodded too.

"Well, we are on Cybertron, our old home planet, which was itself alive before the ferocity and totality of our war killed it. If Sam can bring things that were never alive before alive, and bring others back from the dead," – here he indicated Jetfire – "then maybe his leaking energy can bring our planet back to life. Jetfire has the containers of energy collected from Sam by Ratchet, and if we use those as well, perhaps our world can live again."

"Any chance of being asleep for the trip there and back?" Mikaela asked.

Dr Syn was consulted, and said he could arrange that. He could give them a sedative that should keep them under till they got there, and the Valium-laced Cola should do for the trip back. "Not much more than a small plastic cupful each," he warned, handing them plastic cups along with a bottle of the drugged soda.

"Wait for us before you start anything," Mikaela said.

"We'll return as soon as we can, we'll need a day or two to reassure parents, get stuff, and get back," Miles said. The two teens sat and allowed Dr Syn to use a fine needle to sedate them, and when both were out of it, Jetfire wrapped them both in a Guardian cloak and then spacebridged out of there.

Once they were gone, Sam turned to Starscream.

"So just how long are you planning on keeping me here?" he asked.

"Well, we're hoping that when your friends return, that with the help of the energy generators, you can revive our planet," Starscream said. "Then we could let you rest, and Jetfire could take you and your friends back any time you like."

"What if it doesn't work? How long would you keep me then?"

"Again, the time of your return would be up to you, but we hope you would stay to try a bit more, but it would really be your choice, honestly, you have the AllSpark, and we respect that. Believe me, we'd rather not get on your wrong side as a result, so there is an ulterior motive to our deference, but we hope you understand that that should be a reassurance that we will not harm you and will try not to cross you."

"Well, I want one thing made quite clear. If you want to do anything involving my friends or family, you discuss it with me first. Then, if I approve, then you can do it. If it involves removing a person, you ask them and if they refuse, that stands. You can try and tempt them, and if you can convince me that you need them, I can record a request from me that they come, but otherwise you let them alone. If you go against that, the deal's off and I won't help. Got it?" he asked.

"Yes, yes, I promise to consult you if I feel we need any of your friends and family and get your opinion," Starscream said. "But please, may I suggest you wash yourself – Dr Syn has a sonic cleaning device that should work without damaging you – and change your clothes, they smell rather unpleasant."

Sam agreed, for he could smell that the vomit stench was getting stronger, so he disappeared to remove the stained clothing. He would change first, he decided, avail himself of the medic's sonic cleaner later, but he was definitely looking forwards to a proper bath when he finally got home.

As Sam changed his vomit-bespattered clothing, he saw and heard the Decepticons deciding how to arrange the energy collectors for best effect. As the Great Dome had been built over a metal structure that reached into the heart of the planet, they decided to arrange them in a linked ring around Sam. Giving himself a spray with a deodorant he carried just in case in the knapsack he had been wearing when Jetfire kidnapped him, he went outside, in case he could help somehow.

After discussions with Sam, they agreed that when the time was ready, Sam's sleeping area, now ringed with linked collectors, would be cleared of Guardian cloaks. Sam would either sit or lay on the bare floor, and when the energy from the collectors was discharged, Sam would channel as much energy as he could into the floor. Maybe the concerted effort would be enough to revive the dead world. Mikaela and Miles had asked to be present, so although everything was ready, they waited for the two teenagers to return. As they had said they would take some time, Sam decided he'd take a nap as he was very tired.

He excused himself from the group, squeezed between two already-mounted collectors, pulled a bit of one of the Guardian cloaks over himself, and fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Lifesource.

Chapter Eight.

Jetfire popped into existence at the Lookout. Lowering the two slumbering humans gently to the ground, he composed a message to the Autobots. When he was sure he had worded it correctly, he sent it to the Autobot Base. Then he sat down by the bundled humans, and waited for them to rouse.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

"Incoming transmission from Jetfire," called Mirage from the communication desk, speaking out loud as well as over com for the benefit of Major William Lennox and Technical Sergeant Robert Epps who had arrived to discuss the latest abduction, and be filled in about where Jetfire had said Sam was. Their meeting had come to an end with the depressing conclusion that if the humans had been taken to Cybertron too, they currently had no way of retrieving them.

There was a slight hope, however, because the Autobot inventor Wheeljack had landed just a few hours ago, and had promised to look into the details of spacebridging, and would try to recreate the technology from Earth materials once he'd had a good recharge, which is where he was when the message came through.

Optimus stepped into the control room, he had not been far away, and said "What does the message say, Mirage?"

Mirage flipped a switch, allowing the recorded voice of Jetfire to fill the room.

"This is Jetfire calling the Autobots. I have the two human younglings, Miles and Mikaela here at the Lookout. They have agreed to go and join Sam, who himself will be returned in a short time, and they will require some form of conveyance to take them to their homes and into town. I request that you send Bumblebee, and only Bumblebee, and that he be alone, for this purpose. If I detect any other Autobots following, or coming to the Lookout from another direction, I will spacebridge them younglings away, and cannot be responsible for what happens to them."

There was silence after the message finished, which was broken by Optimus, again speaking aloud so the humans were aware of what he was comming.

"Bumblebee, please come to the control centre for a debrief and new mission. All other Autobots, abort your patrols and return to the Autobot base immediately."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Jetfire noticed Bumblebee's approach even as he had noted the abrupt return to their Base of any other Autobots on the street twenty minutes before. The humans were recovering from the sedative and he had told them that Bumblebee was coming.

"If you honestly want to go back to Sam, you should tell him that. If you don't, tell him that too, but please help me get the items Sam will require before you go home for good. I give you my word that I will not take you against your will again."

Mikaela thought, but did not say, that she did not know how much Jetfire's word was worth. Instead, she said "Well, as long as I can let my Dad know I'm okay, that's fine, I want to be there for Sam." After all, she decided, she had already promised Sam she'd be back. If she thought about it, Jetfire had never promised before not to kidnap her, she had no reason to doubt any promises he made, so maybe his word was sound after all?

Miles, although he was a little groggy nodded and said "Yeah, me too, count me in, but it's my Aunt for me, not my Dad."

"Indeed, and yes, I understand the need to tell people you care about that you will be safe. Neither myself nor Starscream would wish to cause concern to those who love you."

At that point, Bumblebee drew level, converted into robot form, and glared up at Jetfire.

"Okay, I'm here. Optimus has taken in all our Autobots to avoid any risk to these humans. Even Mirage is back at Base, what do you want now?"

"I want you to take these humans wherever they wish to go," Jetfire told him. Turning to the humans, he said "I want you to tell Bumblebee what has happened and what you want to do next, even if you actually want to go home. I hope he will take you there. At six tomorrow night I want you – or Bumblebee with stuff you got if you decide you don't want to come – to meet with me here." He turned to Bumblebee again.

"I'm sorry that I had to threaten to spacebridge the younglings off if you were accompanied. I would, in fact, have left them here, but I did not wish to say so, as I suspected that if I did, you would come out in force, which was not what I wanted."

Bumblebee folded down into his alt, and the two humans climbed inside.

"First stop, our homes, so we can reassure our folks," Mikaela said. "Miles' first, then mine, wait outside until the morning for me, Bee then we'll go get Miles. Then we'll hit town and be back here for six." She paused. "Oh yeah, and 'Bee? Can you tell the 'bots we're safe, and not doing this under duress?"

Bumblebee did so as he drove towards Miles' house. He couldn't help wonder what Jetfire was up to, and what he would do with himself till 6PM the next day.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Mikaela headed up to her room after taking some time to reassure her Dad that she was okay, but would be staying with some friends the other side of the States for a week or so. Having called said friends who said they'd cover for her (though being such good friends they didn't ask what for, nor did she tell them) she had a good enough alibi that a full suitcase wouldn't raise any eyebrows.

She grabbed her basic make-up kit plus some removal pads, three changes of clothes, and her Sidekick cell. Maybe she couldn't call home on it but she had several hundred tunes on it, puny compared to Glen's two thousand, but good enough for her. A pair of trainers and flat sensible shoes went in the case too, with her toothbrush and paste, and she added two litres of water to the case, not having seen any ready supplies, though she took it out after recalling her request for it had been provided by Frenzy.

Figuring anything else could be added later by shopping, she went back down to help her Dad with the car he was working on.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Miles reassured his Aunt that he'd be okay, but wanted to stay with his on-off-on again girlfriend in the UFO spotting group Carissima. She accepted it and he knew she'd be too busy and trusted him enough not to check up. He headed upstairs to update his Facebook, explaining he'd be offline for some time, but not to worry, adding a private message to Carissima not to call round till he called her.

Then he shoved a few clothes into a backpack he'd bought for a sleepover camping UFO spotting trip he'd once attended at the Lookout (too many planes from Nellis made that one a washout) and then looked out his hand-held consoles and some games to keep them all amused. After some thought he put new batteries in his portable CD player and put some CD's in the backpack.

Then he turned on his TV and watched some programmes. Knowing his Aunt didn't find his presence that welcome as their interests differed so widely, he popped a can of Dew and leaned back on his bed.

He had some money from an insurance policy that had matured on his eighteenth birthday, and when 'Bee picked him up the next day, he intended to buy some stuff with some of it for them all.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

When the two humans were brought by Bumblebee the next day, they each had a case or bag each, along with Miles' CD player, two dozen bottles and twenty-four cans.

"What's that?" Jetfire asked.

"Alcohol," Miles said. "Sam's eighteen now, you need to give him time to himself and time to spend time with us, let him unwind."

"If you want him to be healthy and sane, you need to give him a break," Mikaela continued.

"Well, I should put it in my subspace, it should be okay in there, subspace is pressurised, but I suggest any electrical or delicate items be carried on your person or with you." As Miles scrabbled for his consoles and Mikaela for her weighing scales, Jetfire put the alcohol into a seemingly bottomless space on one of his legs. Once they had retrieved anything they wanted from their cases, Jetfire put them in too, and then took out the Guardian cloak.

As he lay it on the floor, and the humans got on it and began to drink the drugged soda, Bumblebee said "I want to come with you."

"I can't carry them and you, and I'm not a medic. I can't offline you for the journey," Jetfire said. "Plus, I don't want to be accused of any more kidnapping."

"I'll tell the Autobots I'm going of my own free will, and the others when I get there," Bumblebee said. "I'll cope with not being in recharge or taken offline for the journey. And we can combine our force-fields, you hold me, and I'll hold them. I want to see Sam, and I bet he misses me too."

Jetfire was silent for a moment, and then nodded. "Very well, compose your message. We will allow the younglings to go to sleep, and then we will ready ourselves."

Ten minutes later, Bumblebee picked up the two sleeping humans in their Guardian cloaks, and Jetfire picked him up, magnetising his plating so Bumblebee was as good as stuck to him for safety.

"Send the message, and then we'll go," Jetfire said. Bumblebee did so, then nodded to indicate it had been sent. Then Jetfire said "Hold on to your nuts!" and spacebridged.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

"Incoming transmission from Bumblebee!" Cliffjumper, who was manning the communications console, said. Major Lennox and Sergeant Epps looked up as Optimus looked up at the screen.

"Let's hear it," the Prime said, wanting to know what had happened since Bumblebee had called to say the humans were safe, and had agreed to go with Jetfire. When he was asked if he wanted assistance, Bumblebee had answered in the negative, fearful that Jetfire might over-react if anyone else was involved.

"Miles and Mikaela are safe. I have chosen to go with them of my own free will, to check on Sam. Bumblebee out."

"Try and raise him, see if we can suggest some sort of backup to go with him, Mirage perhaps," Optimus said. Even as Cliffjumper twisted dials and flicked switches, Optimus tried to contact Bumblebee by com himself.

He knew the effort was futile from the error message of his own com, even as Cliffjumper said "Nil contact Sir, he's either permanently offline or out of range."

"As he assured us that he was safe, and going with Jetfire, I'd assume he's out of range, Sir," Epps said.

Optimus nodded.

"I hope he contacts us with some sort of news soon," Optimus replied.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

As Jetfire re-appeared, Sam, who had been helping to clear the dais he'd been sleeping on for the last few nights, looked up, and started towards him at the sight of the familiar yellow scout who was his latest – and in some ways his best – friend.

"Bee!" he said as the small Autobot placed his bundle on the ground. Sam noticed he and Jetfire appeared to be attached, Bumblebee's back stuck to Jetfire's chest. Jetfire moved away from the humans, and then Bumblebee appeared to fall from Jetfire, hitting the floor feet, first, but wavering, wobbling, weaving across the floor as if drunk.

"Sam, stay back until I'm more steady, it's just the spacebridging, it disorientated me," Bumblebee warned, putting one hand out, fingers splayed, to warn him away.

"You promised to consult me before having any of my friends kidnapped!" Sam accused Starscream.

"But AllSpark-Sam, I wouldn't, I gave my word, this is not my doing, or at my request!" Starscream said, his voice sounding as startled and scared as his words were suggesting.

"Sam! I chose to come of my own free will! Jetfire put forward arguments but I counter-argued, so he brought me here!" Bumblebee said. Sam looked from where Jetfire was helping keep Bumblebee upright, to Starscream, whose body language, facial expression, and dilated optic shutters spoke more of the truth of his statement than Bumblebee's statement.

"Okay, but I hope Mikaela and Miles will be coming round soon, we have work to do!" Sam said.

A soft groan and a "Ugh! Better than last time but ugh!" told Sam that the pair were waking up.

"Frenzy, water please!" Sam said, and by the time Sam had helped them both up, Frenzy was there with water, which Mikaela first rinsed her mouth with and then drank, a procedure that Miles repeated. Once they had recovered sufficiently, and Bumblebee could walk straight and felt better, Mikaela said "Okay, how long will everything take to set up?"

"Well, once Sam is ready, everything is ready for him," Starscream said. "The dais is clear, the collectors are ready, when Sam wants to go, we're ready to go!"

"Well, I guess there's no time like the present," Sam said. He climbed up onto the dais.

"We have found that sometimes humans use incense and calming music to help them connect with what they call their 'inner self.' Jetfire has found some of the incense, and Barricade can play some of the music, having been a musician before the war. If this will help, we will provide it," Starscream said.

Sam almost told Starscream not to bother, that he didn't believe in all that mumbo-jumbo, but stopped. It couldn't do any harm, if nothing happened after half-an-hour he'd tell them to stop. They were only trying to help, and who knew, it might help?

As incense was lit and Barricade began to play, Sam slipped his trainers off and stood on the platform in his socks. As the collectors were switched on, ready to be set to 'discharge', he walked to the middle of the dais.

"What should I do?" he asked, suddenly feeling a little foolish. What if nothing happened?

"When I say 'Now!' the collectors will be instructed to start discharging," Starscream said. "I would suggest you get ready to place your palms flat on the floor at that moment."

Sam dropped to a straight-backed kneeling position, folding his legs under him and positioning his hands a couple of inches above the ground.

"If you make any sort of contact, if you can, try and convey our desire to bring the planet back to life," Starscream advised

"Okay, got you!" Sam said. "Give me a five-second countdown!"

"Five!" Starscream said.

Sam straightened his back, inhaled some of the incense and tried to relax.

"Four!"

He closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing.

"Three!"

"'Bee, Miles, Mikaela, wish me luck!" Sam said.

"Two!" Starscream said.

"Good luck Sam" the two humans and the 'bot said as one.

"One!"

"I'm gonna need it!" Sam said.

"Now, all!" Starscream cried.

As the energy collectors were commanded to discharge, Sam placed his hands on the surface of the dais.

The moment his bare skin contacted the dais, he was haloed in light that alternated between AllSpark blue and bright golden yellow. His back reverse-arched, into a U – shape, then bent upwards in a mirror image of the U. His eyes shot open wide enough that white could be seen all around the iris, and his mouth opened, as if to scream or cry out, but no sound was heard. Sam shook violently, and then was thrown to the floor, prostrate on his front as the light faded and died.

He lay there unmoving, barely breathing, his face pale and slack, his limbs limp and unresponsive. Apart from shallow, irregular breathing, Sam lay sprawled on the floor of the dais as still as death.


	10. Chapter 10

Lifesource.

Chapter Nine.

To Sam, it was if he were floating, suspended in warm water, but he could feel nothing touching him, could hear and see and smell nothing. In fact, he wasn't sure if he even had a body, but when he wanted to move or change direction he could.

After a short time, he felt that he was not alone. There was no pressure, nothing to hear or see or smell, but it was if he knew that one moment he was alone, and the next that he was not. Willing himself upright – and he supposed that perhaps wanting to be upright meant he had some sort of body – he wondered if he could communicate with whoever and whatever the other was.

'**Yes, you can, just as you are now.'**

He started, not knowing how to respond. He had not heard or felt the words, but was aware of their presence in his mind in a form he could understand. Although there was no physical sound, his mind somehow interpreted the voice, and put a tone to it, it was rich and deep, putting him in mind of Optimus Prime, yet not quite the same.

'**Who are you?'** Sam asked, deciding if he could communicate with the other, he would find out as much as he could.

'**I am this world,'** the other replied. Sam didn't know what to think at first. Both Optimus and Starscream had spoken of bringing their world back to life, of reviving it and letting it live, and he had thought it just a turn of phrase, a figure of speech. As if reading his mind, and maybe indeed it was, the other said **'Yes, I – the planet – am alive in a literal sense.'**

'**You're actually alive? Are you like the others, the Autobots and the Decepticons, and have a Spark? Does that mean that when they say they killed the world, they meant in a literal sense?'**

Sam felt agreement from the other, from the being which had told him that the planet was alive and sentient and that he was talking to it.

'**The war of those who once lived upon my surface damaged me so badly I was forced into a dormant state. I may not have come back to this level** **of consciousness had you not helped to heal me. I have a Spark, as they do. Why are you here, and what are you?'**

'**I'm a human, from a distant world,'** Sam said. **'I was brought here by the Decepticons, because they found out I had the AllSpark energy in me and could use it, or have it drained off into collectors. Starscream said they hoped I could revive this world – you – and I guess it worked.'**

'**Do the two groups still fight each other?'** the other asked**. 'Is the war continuing?'**

'**Well, they're still fighting back on Earth, but, well, not at the moment, because all the Decepticons are here,'** Sam said.

'**I see little point in being healed and aware if the other AllSpark Creations will continue to fight,' **the other replied.** 'If that happens, and I am seriously damaged again as a result, I am likely to become dormant again, and if that happens, I will choose to stay that way.'**

'**I'll make sure they know that, but I don't think they'll make the same error twice,'** Sam said, hoping he was right. **'What did you mean 'other children of the AllSpark?' That suggests there is at least one who is not among the Autobots or Decepticons.'**

This time Sam received his answer in images. He saw a bright falling object fall upon a barren satellite of an orange-yellow sun. The object landed on the planet, which was composed mainly of metal, and Sam recognised it as the AllSpark, once it had cooled down from entering the thin atmosphere of the world.

It seemed to do nothing at first, bar glowing for a bit, and then the ground beneath it heaved and split. Sam saw tendrils from the Cube leap out to strike other parts of the ground, and from these places the metal flowed upwards to create what Sam recognised as ancient Cybertronians, in fact, to his shock, he recognised first The Fallen, and then the rest of the Dynasty of Primes, although there were six others he did not recognise amongst the thirteen figures who stood in place once the AllSpark had finished its work.

His perspective suddenly changed and he was experiencing the same story, but this time he _was_ the AllSpark, felt its landing and felt it reach out tendrils of energy to the planet beneath. He realised that the AllSpark was somehow communicating with him, perhaps Cybertron itself was a Sensitive, for he realised that the AllSpark was showing him how it had first awoken the planet, then helped it to create the thirteen Primes, seven of whom had journeyed to his own world.

The planet itself took over at that point, showing how the Primes had all directed the AllSpark to make others in their own image. The six Cybertronians that were not known to Sam would stay behind, and Sam saw that they had three different forms.

The first two of the six were like the seven departing Primes, bipedal and tall, but, he presumed, able to spacebridge and fly much as the Fallen had. The second pair were quadrupeds, looking powerful but graceful, and obviously intelligent, for they were conversing with the others. The last two, although in Cybertronian alts, strongly reminded him of Starscream, and as the planet gave him a silent affirmative, he wondered if these were the first two Seekers, which could mean the Seekers were technically a race of their own, not just a body form.

Once again the planet let him know his theory was correct, and then Sam saw the AllSpark produce more adults of all forms, plus many of the small hatchlings that the Fallen and the Primes had brought in their ship to his world.

Suddenly the image gained sound, one of the Seeker-Primes addressing the seven bipedal forms who were leaving, and it was something about the voice that told Sam that this one was a female.

"The AllSpark gave us life, but we are warned that not all other forms of life are benign, and they may come seeking to possess the power of the AllSpark. We shall defend it, of course, but it is best if all of our race are not gathered in one place. Find a star to harvest, to give energy so the hatchlings are ready to grow and become adults of our kind when you find a world suitable for colonisation. The Harvester will be placed aboard your ship once it is built. Once you send word of a suitable world, we will send others from here to join you." She paused before speaking again.

"There is only one unbreakable rule," she said. "The world you choose to colonise must not be inhabited, and the star you choose to harvest must not have any life on its surface. If you find life on any of the planets, you must move to another system. All life is sacred. This is the rule of the First Thirteen, this is the Prime Directive."

Sam had an impious thought, wondering if the creators of _Star Trek_ had somehow heard of the comment and used it in their shows, but shoved the thought mentally aside. Now was not the time to get distracted by inconsequentials!

The image faded as he realised the planet and the AllSpark had made their point: the AllSpark had made the world live, but the world had requested and suggested others living on its surface, so the planet Cybertron was both brother and mother of the Cybertronian race!

Sam himself had seen the Fallen try to violate that directive when he'd tried to harvest their Earth's sun, and he felt the planet's sorrow as it saw the thought in his mind, and it showed him, in brief, the history of Cybertron.

He saw the Cybertronians spread out and prosper, the exploration and discovery. He saw them training to many different occupations, from craftsmechs to build new bodies, to medics to repair them when they broke or failed, to architects to build their cities, and to miners to obtain the raw materials for building, and the energon to live on. He saw Iacon become established, it was near where the AllSpark had landed, and the Dome was built over it, and artists, over many millennia, decorated it and overlaid it with their artistry, until it was the jewel of Cybertron, the focus of the best artists in the population.

He also saw the darkest points in Cybertron's history, the three times the mechs, thinking they were blasphemous, tried to eradicate the few femmes who existed from the face of the planet, and he saw the two attempts by the ground-living Cybertronians to destroy the Seeker race, who were sometimes feared, misunderstood, and hated.

He saw the two Golden Ages of Cybertron, separated by a Dark Age during which time much of the massacre of Seekers and femmes took place, and saw how the gradual corruption of the Senators brought the second Golden Age to an end. He saw the injustice and segregation that led to the war Optimus and Starscream, and their followers, were still fighting each other over. He felt the planet's Spark flicker each time, and felt the last war, of Autobot and Deception, damage the world, which at first took it without complaint, figuring that like the last time, the wars would fizzle out and it could repair.

Sam felt its despair when it realised, too late, that this war would last longer than it had anticipated, felt it being injured faster than it could repair. He felt it falter and fail, and then it fell into a darkness where it was aware of nothing until it had felt the AllSpark in Sam and woken again.

'**I am awake again, and willing to host the remaining Cybertronians on my surface, but only if they cease this war, make peace and work together,' **the other said.** 'There can be a third Golden Age, but only if the fighting ceases. They** **have the chance to start afresh, and they should take it, because such a chance will not be presented again. Tell them that, human, tell them what I have said.'**

Sam was suddenly back in his own body, sprawled in a prone position across the dais. He could feel the cold metal was warm where he lay, his body heat bringing the metal's surface temperature close to his own.

He opened his eyes to see Starscream bending over to look at him but avoiding the top layer of the dais, the Seeker's faceplates expressing concern. He could feel tremors running through the dais, and hear grinding and rumbling, but decided as they were not currently too close. He could ask about it later.

"Sam, are you all right?' Starscream asked. "What happened? Scans revealed that your brain was working, but on a different level to when you are asleep or awake. It was as if your mind was somewhere between the two states of consciousness."

"I'm fine," he said, then winced as he tried to move: either he had been in one position for longer than he thought, or the energy of the AllSpark had left him a little stiff. He slowly got up and moved off the dais, sitting on one of the steps before looking up at Starscream, who was crouched down and looking at him queryingly. Mikaela came over with some water, which he sipped gratefully, for his mouth was dry, and he had a slight headache. He ruefully reflected that it wasn't fair to get what felt like a hang-over before he'd had any alcohol.

"Well, what happened?" the Seeker asked. "Something must have happened for you to collapse like that!" Starscream said.

"I spoke to the planet, and it spoke back to me. I didn't realise that when you spoke of bringing the planet back to life, you were being literal!" Sam replied.

"Why would I not be?" Starscream asked, and seemed genuinely puzzled by Sam's query, and Sam thought that perhaps the metaphor was indeed rare in Cybertronian speech. Sam shook his head, it didn't matter, he had more important things to talk about than Cybertronian use of language.

"Never mind, the important thing is that it is alive, and as such has opinions and feelings, and it conveyed them to me," Sam said. He took a breath, not sure how Starscream would take what he had to say next.

"It said that your war damaged it so it became dormant until I – or the AllSpark within me – woke it up. It said it's happy for you all to come back, but the fighting must stop. I saw this world's history, Starscream, I know it's hard for you to trust any grounder, and that as the Autobots are mostly grounders, you find it hard to trust any of them, even if one of them is a Prime, who will also know about the shameful purges on Seekers." Sam hoped his words were getting through to Starscream, hoped that the planet's message would be enough to end so many millennia of hate and conflict.

"What about equality between us Decepticons and the Autobots?" Starscream asked.

"Well, you are the ones who have reached Cybertron first," Sam pointed out. "You are in a position to make that a condition of coming here, but equality goes both ways," Sam said. "If you oppress the Autobots the way the Planet says you were oppressed, the Autobots may one day rise up in armed revolt against you, just as you did against the Senators. If wholesale war breaks out again and sends the planet into dormancy again, it has said it will choose not to come back even if it could." He paused and then spoke again. "It said that if you can live together, there was the possibility that Cybertron could have a third Golden Age, started by you and the Autobots."

To Sam's surprise, Starscream nodded in agreement.

"What you say makes sense. I can see how punishing the Autobots by treating them as we were would probably lead to conflict again, and there are not enough Decepticons to do this alone, particularly not enough who have experience of leading and organizing and delegating. However, we will not sit back and allow the Autobots to be in control again. If we are to work together, this must be a joint venture."

"Well, yes, I agree," Sam said. "Maybe Optimus or Prowl could try and help you learn to organize and delegate. Maybe you could organize a ruling system where both groups, and maybe the different races – have an equal say. Perhaps you could pass rules that make it illegal for only one group or another to have overall control, perhaps too make it illegal to discriminate against Seekers, or femmes, or even grounders and non-Cybertronians, for you will get visitors sooner or later, I think, and discrimination cuts both ways."

"Yes, Sam, I agree, there will be much to organize and work out once we get to that stage, but we are not yet there," Starscream reminded him. "To get to that stage, Optimus must know what has happened and what is needed. As you shall, as we promised, be going home with your friends, perhaps you could take the news, and our suggested terms of working together, back to the Autobots for us."

"Can I look at them and suggest alterations if needed?" Sam said. "You don't want to antagonize them if you are wanting to make peace," Sam said. "Bumblebee too?"

Starscream looked annoyed at first, than cleared his faceplates and nodded.

"As you two are our best resources for knowing what the Autobots will and will not accept, and what may just antagonise them, I actually think that's a good idea. Having the terms checked before sending can cut to a minimum the to-ing and fro–ing as they are altered and adapted. Very well, human, you and your Autobot guardian can look over our terms and suggest changes where necessary. Once we both agree that they can be sent, Jetfire will take you all home."

"Can I have something to eat and drink, and a sleep first?" Sam asked. As he paused, he heard the rumbling sound again, and felt small tremors in the surface beneath him. "You have earthquakes – um, I mean tremors – on Cybertron? Are they dangerous?"

"Not much, and they are usually minor and not at all dangerous, I assume the planet is having to move parts of the surface around to make it ready to be habitable again," Starscream said, as if a planet re-organising its physical mass was an everyday occurrence. He moved some of the Guardian cloaks over to the dais, while Miles and Mikaela helped bring over food and drink. Then he spoke again as Sam started eating hungrily.

"Eat and drink, Sam, we'll start working out terms for you to look over when you wake. Get ready when you rouse, wash and do the other necessaries that humans do, and then join us, for there is work to be done."


	11. Chapter 11

Lifesource.

Chapter Ten.

When Sam awoke, he went over to Starscream, who made sure he was comfortable before taking him through the terms the Decepticons insisted on if the Autobots wanted to return to Cybertron. He was pleased to note that not only was the requirement of ending the war at the top, and not negotiable, but an explanation about why this was the case was also included.

He only had to make a few corrections ("'we must respectfully insist' goes down better than 'we demand, no buts,' Starscream,") although some of what was mentioned was beyond his ken. He was glad that the Decepticons were inviting the Autobots to come back and live with them, and share in bringing the planet back to life. Starscream had included in the terms an agreement that at first, just he and Optimus should share in the task of regenerating and running Cybertron, bringing in others as needed. He included the proviso that for every extra Autobot brought in, a Decepticon should join (or vice versa) to balance the eventual governing body. Starscream had suggested that this would include Seekers and grounders, four legged and two, mechs and femmes. In the future, possibly a department dealing with relations with non-Cybertronians would be created, but that would be a future group, not an immediate one.

Once Starscream had finished going through the treaty, Sam went to join Mikaela and Miles in a meal while Starscream databurst the amended terms for Bumblebee to check.

"Jetfire said he can take us back whenever we want," Mikaela said after swallowing down a mouthful of food. "I guess it's up to you when we go, we have a few days to spare if you need them."

Sam nodded, but felt slightly unhappy. "I know this seems daft, but I'm not so sure I want to go back, at least not yet. Okay, yes, I was brought here against my will and without my knowledge, and yes, I love my family and friends and my world, and want to see them again, but on the other hand, I did sort of help bring this world back to life, and I'd like to sort of see what's going to happen, and how it'll get on. Once I go back, that's it, and though I want to go back, it'll be hard."

At that moment, Starscream came over and gave Sam a little bow. Sam was surprised at the unexpected courtesy: now he'd done as they wished and yet they were still being polite, and it was more than a little bit unnerving.

"Swiftstrike, we Cybertronians have very sharp audios, and I could not help but hear what you said, and I think I may have an answer to your problem that will probably benefit all of us."

"Okay, I'm listening," Sam said. Bumblebee, who was also nearby, drifted over to hear as well.

"Well, as you said, you are part of the reason we have our planet awake and responsive, after all, it was the AllSpark energy that alerted it something was happening, but it was you who talked to the planet, negotiated with it on our behalf, and brought back its terms for staying active, and it's promise that a third Golden Age was possible."

"Okay," Sam said, nodding to encourage the Seeker to continue.

"Well, if you wanted to come to visit, we'd be happy. As you are partly responsible for bringing Cybertron back for us, we would be happy to give you Cybertronian citizenship, human though you are."

"I'm kinda flattered, but I don't want to give up my American citizenship," Sam said. "Apart from the problems it would cause as I live in America, I'm patriotic to the country that I was born into and grew up in," Sam explained.

"Well, okay, we'll give you dual nationality, only on Cybertron would that need to be known, and we'll write in whatever clauses you might require if your Government find out or need to be informed. As you are neither robotic nor were born here, it would be an honorary distinction, laying no obligations on us to keep you as far as your Government are concerned, although we would house you and ensure food for you when you are here. Clothing and other necessary human-specific items would be brought by you."

"Okay, we've sorted that out, but as Cybertron is so far away, and Bumblebee tells me that it's out of range of regular communication, how can I let you know I want to go? You can't expect me to organise a regular time per month or whatever, I might have exams, or medicals, or work in that time. I need to be able to let you know when I'm available to turn up, I need some flexibility."

"Soundwave-will-speak."

The big Decepticon communications specialist had glided over without anybody noticing, and at his announcement, they all, including the humans, stopped talking and waited. Soundwave's remark was neither a demand nor a request, but a simple statement of fact. Sam briefly wondered how long Soundwave had been eavesdropping on their conversation, then listened as the mech began speaking again.

"Planets-along-route," he said, projecting a hologram – vastly simplified Sam suspected – showing Earth, Cybertron, and several white points in between. He pointed at each in turn. "Place-relay-stations-on-some, Swiftstrike-can-relay-visiting-request."

"How?" Sam asked. "Unlike you, I don't have an inbuilt communication system."

"If-Bumblebee-stays-he-can-relay," Soundwave said. "If-not, communications-unit-can-be-given-to-Swiftstrike. Soundwave-will-create," the purple mech intoned.

"Well, okay, that answers how, but not why," Sam said. "Starscream, you said your solution would benefit us all, meaning not just me, but you. What benefit? I think I should know before I commit to anything."

Starscream bowed again, and nodded. "Why, our benefit would be that as you have the AllSpark energy, you could give life to sparklings, something like, but not as often as, the AllSpark used to. As of yet, we have no evidence that any femmes made it out here, or are even still alive. We hope that some will be produced via AllSpark power, but we would like them to have a period of being looked after, never again do we want new Sparks placed into adult bodies just to create convenient workers, or slaves. We do not want to set female Sparks immediately to Creation, they must have a life outside of being a Creator. In time, yes, we hope they will Create, but we do not wish to force any into it, we would like it to be what they want to do, not just something they will do just because we are in need."

"How often would you need me, and how often would you want me to perform this service?" Sam asked. "I'm only human, I do have human frailties and needs and limits."

"That would be up to you," Starscream said. "You would come as often or as seldom as you like, and give as many or as few as you feel you can, or wish to give, each day. You could insist on rest days, or rest periods in a day. You can set a limit on how many you create in a day, or how much time will pass between Creations. It should not be too strenuous, our numbers, even if you combine Autobots and Decepticons, are few, and the sparklings you create will not be rushed into becoming adults. You can set limits, or just decide each day when the cut-off point is."

"Okay, where would I stay? Perhaps the middle of the dais was okay when the AllSpark was a metal cube, but I don't want to sleep on a hard surface on display to all who might want to gawp, I want to be able to sleep in a bed, and have some privacy, particularly if I'm going to have some time off, I couldn't relax if I had to stay up there during rests too."

"We can clear one of the rooms where we found the Guardian cloaks, Jetfire could spacebridge in a bed, some drawers and cupboards for storage, or whatever you like. We could get the lights working, rig a switch or sensor at your height so that you could turn them on and off in your room. Maybe we could make another room with seats for resting in, let us know what you want or need, and we'll do our best to accommodate them."

"Well, you're making all these statements and decisions and promises, but you also said you and Optimus together will govern the planet, and considering the distance, I don't think you've consulted Optimus on this." Sam said, not knowing why he was nit-picking but doing so anyway.

"Because I don't think your Optimus will object to any of what I have said, and if he does, it's not set in stone. Any agreement we come to will have to be agreed by you, me, and Optimus before it becomes a law or agreement, and any modification once it has become so will require the agreement of the same three to be so modified," Starscream explained.

"Yeah, okay, I guess so," Sam said. "Seems fair enough, I guess, and if it's okay by you, and Miles and 'Kaela, could we stay a bit longer? Miles brought some beer and I'd like to drink a can or two, and recover and maybe then we'll go."

"Well, I have no objections, though I will have to go out and see what we can do now the planet seems to have stopped moving things about around here, at least," said Starscream.

"I don't mind either," Mikaela said, and Miles said he was happy to stay a little more too. They finished eating, and then each cracked open a can, and began chatting companionably.

It was a little disconcerting when Sam looked back from talking to Mikaela to see Soundwave kneeling nearby, his lower legs tucked under his upper, his back inclined forwards and his gaze fixed on Sam. None of them had even heard him, so graceful his descent to his knees had been.

"Um…what is it?" Sam asked nervously.

"Soundwave-wishes-only-to-observe. Soundwave-will-not-interfere. Is-this-acceptable?"

"I…guess so," Sam said, and for a moment, there was an awkward silence, and then Soundwave spoke again.

"Does-Swiftstrike-miss-Creators?" He opened his chest to release Frenzy. "Soundwave-understands-Creation-Creator-bonds."

"Yeah, I guess I do, although I suspect my feelings are not bonds as you understand them, but yeah, I'm looking forwards to seeing them, and I bet they're looking forwards to seeing me."

"Swiftstrike-will-be-staying-here-at-times. Absence-will-not-cause-lessening-of-bonds?" the big mech asked.

"Our bonds may not be the same as yours, but they do endure. When I marry 'Kaela, I'll be absent for months at a time, but they'll still care."

Soundwave seemed satisfied by this, and after a few moments he moved away, having a silent conversation with Bumblebee, who moved with him, Once they were well away from their position, Mikaela looked at Sam.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Sam? Don't just think of them, think of yourself. Do you mind?"

"I guess I don't really. Even though they're Decepticons, they seem to be doing all they can to accommodate me," Sam said. He smiled.

"Anyway, haven't you ever wanted, even for a short time, to be treated like a god?"


	12. Chapter 12

Lifesource.

Chapter Eleven.

"Sam, would you like to see what our world has done for us while you are here?" Starscream asked. "I can carry you, and trap oxygen in my force-field so you can breathe, just as you can breathe in the Dome, and could breathe when we first brought you to Cybertron, under a force-field we erected with air you can breathe created and pumped in."

"Yeah, okay, I guess so," Sam said. The Seeker stooped to pick Sam up and put his force-field in place, then walked towards the doors. Sam noticed that Starscream's field seemed to merge with the one around the Dome, and then as he walked away, it pulled away like a bubble around them. Sam guessed it made sense for the Cybertronians to set their personal fields at the same frequencies to facilitate entering and exiting the Dome without having to lower the larger field and lose some of the air they had obviously made and pumped in.

Once free of the Dome's air-enclosing energy, Starscream briefly crouched before jumping into the air and taking wing, cradling Sam carefully and safely in his double-thumbed hands. As the Seeker flew up, Sam could see that many of the debris and broken structures he had seen upon waking were gone, in fact, with a few exceptions, the only structures left were the Dome itself and a few buildings in the Dome's general vicinity. It looked as if the very land the city had stood on had overturned itself and engulfed the structures.

In fact, as Sam recalled the quakes they had all felt earlier, he realised that perhaps that indeed was the case. Perhaps the planet itself was readying itself for the Autobots and Decepticons' return, clearing up the debris and rubble from the time of the war, readying the land for those who had left to rebuild now that some of them had returned, and that more would likely follow. He let out a whistle of appreciation, and said "It must be great to have a planet that will alter the landscape if need be."

"It isn't such a great thing that we can hurt and even kill it," Starscream replied. "Most great positives in life have an equally great negative." Sam nodded, and for a time restricted his comments to observations and exclamations about some of the sights he saw while Starscream flew around and over the altered landscape with him.

"I notice that the Dome has remained intact, and I guess as we are there, it's understandable, it doesn't want to hurt or damage us, and we need somewhere to stay, but I notice some other buildings have been left standing. Do you have any ideas why it would leave those?" Sam asked.

"I notice, Sam, that the damage to the buildings it has left is superficial and repairable, and my theory is that it does not want us to have to build totally from the beginning, not while there are still places we can use. We can repair those buildings, move people in, and then start rebuilding, while our people at least have another place to stay." He paused. "However I notice that apart from the Dome, many of the Iacon landmark buildings have been engulfed and removed from the planet's surface, including the Senate Tower, and I know that was still mainly intact when we left. I also think that certain buildings have been removed, even if repairable, because they are a reminder of the cause of the war, and such structures are just as distasteful to the planet as they are to many of us."

"I guess so," Sam said as he watched the slightly rumpled landscape beneath them shifting as it settled after some of the recent land movements. "Wipe away solid reminders of the past, as your memories are long enough, I guess."

"Our memories should have been long enough after the other conflicts and Dark Ages too," Starscream said "so I may back our memories up with a monument or memorial of some kind, and hope that my great grand-descendants, and everyone else's, take heed."

"Maybe I could ask the planet to raise its own reminder," Sam mused, "One that might have more meaning than one created by Cybertronian hands? Or one that may work better in conjunction with yours than one monument alone would."

"That might work, too, perhaps with a plaque on both explaining what they are, and diagrams too, in case the language changes," Starscream said. "I hope it works, we have had a Dark Age, several massacres, and two wars, and still have not learned. I am thinking, if the AllSpark and the Planet permit, perhaps the Planet can speak to Sensitives too, let them know if things are looking bad from Cybertron's point of view, perhaps it can give us early warnings before it's too late. That might work better than any monument, no-one can doubt it if several Sensitives, - especially if their career is to talk to and monitor our world - give the same warning."

"Yeah, that might work better than a monument that after a couple of millennia might be seen as out of touch or not relevant," Sam said, knowing what Starscream was talking about, as his guardian Bumblebee was a Sensitive, who could communicate with the AllSpark. There was a 'nudge' from the AllSpark within him, a 'nudge' Sam knew meant it wanted him to be aware of something, and he briefly recalled his earlier conversation with Starscream, when he had first been taken to the Great Dome.

"I remember earlier, you said you heard the AllSpark scream, but as you were a low-status Decepticon, you were never tested," Sam said.

"Yes, what of it?" Starscream said.

"Well, when we go back to the Dome, how about you and I both try to contact the Planet together, perhaps you can be the first Planet Speaker and Listener?"

"But I don't know if I am a Sensitive!" Starscream objected. "What if I try and fail?"

"Nobody has to know what we're doing, and I don't know if the Planet will agree anyway, but we can at least try," Sam said. "The worst that will happen is nothing, and if so, we can ask 'Bee to try later and see if he succeeds. If you are Sensitive and Cybertron won't talk to you, the AllSpark should, and you'll know you are Sensitive, even if the Planet doesn't say hi. If you're Sensitive and Cybertron chooses to talk to you, it could start that Sensitive Planet-Speaker post you spoke of, and you could be the first."

"But if I'm not, and nothing happens, everybody will see my failure," Starscream lamented.

"If you're that worried, then try to contact the AllSpark through me," Sam said. "It's been trying to get my attention about you every time the Sensitive subject turns up, and I think it's time we trusted it." He looked up at the agitated Seeker. "Why not land and give talking to the AllSpark a try? If it doesn't work, we fly back, ask Bumblebee, a known Sensitive to try, and nobody needs to know if I – and the AllSpark - are wrong, and you're not Sensitive. But I don't think we're wrong, and you have nothing to lose if you try right here, right now, with no other Cybertronians to witness what happens."

"Okay, I will try, perhaps it will stop both of us wondering," Starscream said, and flew about in a wide circle before selecting an area that he thought was stable enough before briefly hovering, then firing his jets on and off so he landed smoothly on his spreading parrot-like feet.

Sam asked Starscream to cup his hands in a way that he could comfortably curl up in, like he did with Bumblebee, and said "If you feel the need or the desire to sing, then sing."

Curling on his side, Sam closed his eyes and in his head 'reached' for the AllSpark. He hoped he had not misinterpreted the Essence, but he didn't think he had.

Before he dropped into warm, comforting nothingness, he thought he heard the Seeker's voice raised in song.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

When Sam roused, he found that Starscream was once again flying, and he was sprawled face-up in the Seeker's hands. When he moved and groaned, Starscream cocked an eye at him, keeping the other on where he was going.

"You were right!" the Seeker said, his voice reflecting his wonder and his joy. "I am a Sensitive, and the Essence too says I should offer myself as Cybertron's first representative."

"So where are we going now?" Sam asked, huddling against the cold created by the wind of Starscream's passage. The Seeker noticed the movement, deduced the reason for it, and cradled Sam close enough to his chest that Sam could feel the heat of Starscream's Spark keeping him from getting too cold.

"Well, I'm taking a long flight, as it's the first I've had in several days, but we will end up at the Dome, where, after you've rested, we can try as you suggested, contacting the Planet, and find out if it will allow me to be its first spokesmech, until others who can and are up to the task join me."

"That's great!" Sam said with honest feeling. "If we can get that done and confirmed before us humans leave, I think that the Planet has accepted you will do something for the trust issues, am I right?"

"I believe you are," Starscream said, and Sam noticed that some of the Seeker cockiness, missing when they discussed Starscream's potential Sensitivity, was back, as the Seeker took a deep breath. "Even the old stories speak of the AllSpark 'Looking into the mechs Sparks and seeing that they would speak the truth.' I hope that the AllSpark has sensed that willingness in me, and it will convey that to the Planet."

"I think that had it not, the AllSpark would have told you so," Sam replied. Starscream nodded, then made an abrupt turn.

"I believe you, after all, you house the Essence," the Seeker replied, and began to lose altitude as he circled round. Sam, who was about to cry out in alarm, stilled his cry as he saw the Dome below, and saw the Seeker angle towards a flat expanse that was the nearest thing to a runway in the currently-barren expanse.

"The air in the field will expire soon, and I would prefer to renew the air in my personal field so you do not expire with it," the Seeker said, and Sam thought he heard a supressed laugh_. 'Well I'll be damned, that Seeker does have a sense of humour after all!'_ he thought briefly. As the mech landed, he walked towards the Dome, his personal field once again merging with the main one, and although it could have been his imagination, Sam fancied he could breathe easier.

Starscream, once inside the Dome, dissolved the field and took Sam over to the dais. "AllSpark Sam has an idea, but we are not to divulge it until we have attemped it. Although we think it is likely to be successful, we do not wish to risk disappointment, so we will inform you what we were trying to do only once we have attempted it."

Sam nodded, recognising Starscream's own nerves in his pronouncement, so when Starscream crouched down and whispered 'What now?' Sam was not surprised.

"Hold me around the body so my knees connect with the dais, but my hands do not," he whispered just as quietly. "Lower me so that when your hands touch the dais, so do mine, and then let the AllSpark and the Planet do their stuff."

The Seeker did so, placing one long hand around Sam's middle, keeping his hands off the dais. When Sam said "Now!" Starscream put one hand on the dais as he let Sam's hands touch it too. Those outside saw the bodies held rigid by blue light, but the human and the Seeker did not notice, for they were elsewhere.

Sam felt the floating not-quite-there sensation and belatedly wondered if he should have warned the Seeker. He mentally reached for Starscream's mind but found it happy and calm.

"_We fly here!"_ Starscream said joyously, and Sam at first thought to correct him but abruptly changed his mind. He himself felt like he was floating and might fly apart at a breeze. Who was he to say that this might not be a world where Seekers felt at home? Instead he 'felt' himself drifting closer to Starscream, and then the world spoke to them both.

"**Why are you here, and why do you bring another?"** it asked.

"_I return to make a request which may benefit both you and those of you who are grand-descendants and uncles and aunts and cousins," _Sam said boldly.

"**Then state it,"** the Planet said. **"I will consider your request and I shall decide whether it is as good as you suggest it may be."**

Opening his mind to the Planet, Sam explained mentally why he thought having a Sensitive who would convey the Planet's opinions to it's people would be a good idea.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Sam came to lying on the floor of the dais, yet despite being stiff, cold, tired and hungry he could not help but smile.

It was the Seeker who said in a voice ringing with hope, "The Planet has agreed that it will speak with chosen Sensitives to express any ideas or concerns it will have!"

Only Sam, Mikaela, Bumblebee, and Miles immediately noticed that Starscream's armour had new silver and blue spirals that glistened in the light like a badge of office.


	13. Chapter 13

Lifesource.

Chapter Twelve.

As Starscream moved purposefully across the Dome to speak to Jetfire and Dr Syn, more of the assembled Decepticons noticed the scintillating designs coloured and imprinted into the Seeker's hide. One or two wondered aloud what had happened, but Starscream ignored the murmurs. Only when Frenzy moved over to the Seeker, climbed up him and perched on his shoulder like some metal, mutated parrot and chittered in his audio, did the Seeker make reference to his new décor.

"The Planet has agreed, Frenzy, to speak with certain Sensitives, to be sure we will not, either now or in the future, forget and abrogate our agreement with the Planet to war no more on its surface, and preferably to not make war and destroy each other off it either. It has marked me with the colours and pattern it has chosen to mark those it will speak with. I am merely the first of a team Cybertron will speak with, and perhaps this will stop us from getting to the point where we will wage war on each other and damage the Planet to the point where it will feel despair and seek death."

He turned back to the elderly Seeker and the brown medic, and carried out a conversation, while Frenzy just stayed there, observing and listening. Sam was a little startled when the quartet, Frenzy still on Starscream's shoulder, approached.

"I'm ready to take you and your friends back whenever you're ready, Sam," Jetfire said, leaning on his cane and peering at the human. "Just give me one half of one of your hours warning so I can prepare, and so Dr Syn here can get you humans in a state of unconsciousness so you are not too disorientated by the journey."

"I would also like to accompany you, Sam, so I can talk to your Optimus Prime about the Planet's Sensitives. I did mention that perhaps we could share overseeing the world, and as I recall Optimus Prime is a sensitive himself. Perhaps it would be to the world's advantage if both those who will begin this process can communicate with the Planet?" Starscream said.

"You want the Planet to be able to communicate with both of you, the people at the very top of the chain of command?" Sam asked.

"Very perceptive, Sam," the Seeker said, and Sam gave him a sharp look, not able to work out if he was being sarcastic or not. "Do you not agree that those in overall charge should be available to our Commander-In-Chief, which in this case will be the Planet itself?"

"Yeah, I do, in fact I think that makes a lot of sense, seeing as you both lead groups that until recently were in opposition to each other," Sam said.

"Also, if we cannot come to an agreement on something, I think the fairest arbiter would be the Planet in such cases, which will be aware of all the variables and will be unbiased," the Seeker said.

"I'm thinking you've got it worked out," Sam said. "Give me some private space in one of those rooms, and once we've let Optimus know, I can come back as and when it is convenient to act in a limited capacity as AllSpark," Sam said. He hadn't looked forwards to the role long-term, but when the peace of a civilisation was at stake, how could he refuse? He also thought that the Autobots would help negotiate a get-out clause he could activate if things didn't go as planned.

"We need to discuss it with the Autobots to be sure, and maybe the humans for the long-term," Starscream said. Sam was surprised how zealous Starscream was to become a mediator, a peacemaker, but maybe that side of him had been there all along? Maybe he had been fired up by Megatron and the Decepticon cause, had enjoyed the power, only recently realising that everyone in a war was powerless, except those who stood up and said STOP!

"Okay, we'll pack and be drugged soon enough, plan a departure in an hour's time," Sam suggested to the quartet, glancing at his friends and Bumblebee to be sure, all three nodding in agreement.

Sam and Mikaela gathered up their stuff, and Jetfire packed what was appropriate into his subspace, and anything that needed pressure, oxygen, light, vacuum, anything that couldn't go into subspace, in his cockpit. The medic sedated the three humans, dulled Bumblebee's sensory input, and wrapped the three humans in a Guardian cloak for the transportation. Once Jetfire had refuelled, he magnetised his plating and bent over Bumblebee, his chest to the scout's back, so they stuck together.

Then the Decepticon medic handed over the carefully-wrapped humans, wrapped in a Guardian cloak, and Starscream – minus Frenzy now - wrapped his arms around Jetfire's chest, snuggling between his thrusters. To finish, the three Cybertronians merged their fields, carrying air for the humans to breathe between places.

"Will you be able to get there with all that extra mass?" the medic asked worriedly.

"Of course! I'm the mighty Jetfire!" Jetfire exclaimed. "No problem! I'm Jetfire, one of the first Seekers, designed to spacebridge many tons!"

The medic decided it might be wiser to say no more but hoped that Jetfire's ability was equal to his confidence in himself. He was one of the first Seekers, it was true, and he had been healed by the AllSpark in Sam, but being one of the first also made him old. The medic decided he'd not say anything, and would just have to hope. Sending a brief prayer to Primus, he followed them outside.

Jetfire and Starscream manoeuvred their way outside the Dome, both igniting their thrusters to get airborne as the brown medic watched. Then Jetfire engaged his spacebridge technology, and warped them out of there.

He watched for five minutes, to make sure they'd not needed to suddenly abort, and then turned to go back in. If they had had problems early on, they'd be back by now.

If problems were to occur further out, too far from Earth or Cybertron, they had no way of letting anybody know.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

The Lookout was almost silent, only birds sang and rabbits chewed their pellets without concern. All of a sudden it went still. Too still.

All the animals sensed the pause, as if something was waiting, waiting to come through the air. The birds fell silent, freezing stock-still. The rabbits fled into their burrows.

A moment later there was a breeze of displaced air, as the three Cybertronians and three humans appeared atop the Lookout. Jetfire, unbalanced, took three steps and then sprawled, as Bumblebee put an arm out to brace himself against the ground while keeping the three recumbent humans from being squashed under the combined weight of himself, Jetfire, and Starscream. When Jetfire released the magnetism of his plating, Starscream rolled off him and them Jetfire rolled off Bumblebee the opposite way, well aware of the fragile humans the Autobot cradled, after all one of them had revived him, and then made him live again.

"I seem okay," Starscream said. "Bumblebee? Jetfire?" he called.

"Of course I'm okay, though I had to do some fancy calculations to accommodate your weight this time, thought when I took all of you there the first time, I thought the excess was Wreckage! What are you made of to mass that much? Amazing you get off the ground at that mass!"

"Are you calling me weighty? All these electronics take up a lot of my mass," Starscream objected.

"Never mind that!" Bumblebee said. "As far as my scans tell, these three are okay, we just have to wait for them to wake up, but I don't know when that'll be!"

As if in response, Sam groaned, and a moment later Mikaela stretched, and not long after that, Miles let out a monster yawn, rubbing his eyes. Bumblebee carefully lay them down in the grass, aiming his heated air ventilation at them.

After a few moments, they were all sitting up groggily, rubbing their eyes and blinking, looking around them.

"We back, 'Bee?" Sam asked. "All of us?" He looked around, checking that all who had pledged to come were there, and then said to the Seekers "How about one of you take 'Bee, the other us three, and we fly to the Autobot Base? Perhaps, 'Bee, you can warn them we'll be coming and with whom?"

Bumblebee bobbed his head, and Sam watched as his optics dimmed and then brightened again.

"Why did you have him do that?" Starscream said shrilly. "So they can arm themselves against us, when we come on a mission of peace? Don't you trust us?"

"On the contrary, I trust you completely, Starscream, but the 'bots have no idea what's going on. I thought it best to warn them we'd be flown in so we don't get blasted out of the sky, because Cliffjumper or Ironhide have a nervous trigger finger. Now they know we're arriving by air, I imagine the force-field will be dropped, Optimus and Ratchet will be there, and no-one will have their cannons powered up and pointing at us!" Sam explained.

"I suppose it makes sense when you look at it that way," Starscream said sulkily. "So who's taking the humans and who the Autobot?"

"As the Autobot masses more and I'm big, I thought I could take him and you the humans, but I guess I should let you choose, neither will be an effort for me after carrying five of you from Cybertron to here," Jetfire said.

"I agree, I'll take the humans and you take the scout," Starscream said.

As Jetfire stooped to pick up Bumblebee, the scout joked "Just don't drop me, okay?"

"As if I would!" Jetfire said as he straightened with the yellow Autobot clasped to him. "Do you think I've got oilfingers?"

"I'll be careful with you three as well," Starscream promised as he picked up the encloaked humans. Once they were ready, the two took off and flew to the Autobot Base.

As Sam has suspected, both the Autobot Leader and Ratchet the medic were waiting for them. Ironhide was also there, but further back, both cannons powered down and his arms down by his side so as not to look threatening. The two Seekers landed not too far away, and Jetfire carefully lowered Bumblebee to the floor, and Starscream un-cocooned the three humans from the enclosing cloak, which Starscream, after a moment's thought, cast over Jetfire's back to get it out of the way.

The three Cybertronians all stooped with their hands out, and after a quick look at each other, the three humans each went to one of them and climbed in their cupped hands. Sam's choice was Bumblebee, whereas Mikaela made a beeline for Jetfire. That left just Starscream left to carry Miles, but the human boy climbed up with a big smile on his face, he wasn't about to object!

When they looked up, Optimus Prime had stepped outside of the gate and was beckoning to them. "Please come in with the humans and drink some energon with us. Much has happened that we wish to discuss with you." He shutter-blinked as he noticed Starscream's new patterning. "I have reason to believe you may have something to say to us too."

Starscream made a jerky little bow, awkward because he was holding Miles, who himself was precariously balanced as he looked around.

"Oh yes, Prime, I believe we do, all of us, the Seeker said. "I think energon, and drinks for the humans will be very much in order, for what I have to explain will take a long time, and I anticipate many questions."

Ratchet's mobile brows shot up in surprise, but Optimus seemed his usual imperturbable self.

"Then may I suggest we all assemble in my office? Ratchet, perhaps you could ask Jazz to get in some fast food for these humans? I believe you said he would be qualified to do so?"

"He has been investigating an Earth food called 'pizza', and I believe he has tried every drive-through within a reasonable range, so I think he should be able to choose some for them that the humans will enjoy," Ratchet said.

The happy sounds the humans made seemed to confirm Ratchet's food choice, and Optimus nodded.

"While we wait for Jazz to get the pizzas, may I suggest we go to my office, and make a start? You, it seems, have news, and I know I have questions," Optimus said.

"Lead the way, Prime," Starscream said. He was very much looking forwards to delivering his news to Optimus.

He wanted to see if he could shake that calm façade.


	14. Chapter 14

Lifesource.

Chapter Thirteen.

A/N: This chapter is for HonorGuard Ra, ennui deMorte, and L.a'ienth without whom this chapter would have remained unwritten. Kudos to HonourGuard Ra for ideas used in this chapter. A brace is an old term meaning two of something

Optimus, with Ratchet and Ironhide just behind him, led the two Seekers into the Base, past the rec-room and into the next door on the left, which led into his office and was almost directly opposite the entrance to Ratchet's med bay. The medic peeled off into the med bay unobtrusively, noticed only by Bumblebee and Sam, who, in deference to the Base's Seeker guests, had dropped back to the tail-end of the group.

Optimus walked over to his desk and pulled his chair out, and offered it to Starscream. "I apologise that it has no wing rests, if you plan to make more cordial visits, I shall have one made to your specifications, and the same for your wing brothers if they would be likely to accompany you." He turned to face Jetfire as he cleared the few items he had on his desk. "This should bear you, if you wish to be seated. Ratchet will return with some sort of makeshift seating for the rest of us."

"I shall assist," Ironhide stated, and exited the office as Jetfire sat on the proffered desk, which although it creaked alarmingly under his weight, supported him.

"Thank you," the ancient Seeker said.

Starscream opened his mouth to speak to Optimus, but before he could say anything, Ratchet emerged, carrying what appeared to be an adapted shipping container behind him. He was followed by Ironhide who was bringing in a similar container. Ratchet and Ironhide positioned the two containers opposite Starscream and Jetfire, and then Ratchet disappeared to return with a smaller container, which he positioned in the middle. Another small container was taken out from this, and positioned next to the one it had been taken from in the middle. From this smaller container were taken three seats and a small table for the humans, which were placed on top. The humans were placed here as Ratchet disappeared again, returning with five empty drinking cubes, which he handed to Optimus.

Starscream had to admit to a fillip of satisfaction at being given Optimus' own chair, which he sat down in carefully, finding that although it was not a Seeker's chair, the back design still gave him plenty of support. He watched as Optimus turned and headed for an energon dispenser on the wall, and saw Optimus' back kibble was quite bulky, which he assumed was why there were recesses in the back of the chair that, with a bit of shifting about, Starscream could wedge his back-mounted thrusters into.

As he saw Optimus approach with a full drinking cube, he got another surge of satisfaction, not just because he was being served by the Autobot Leader and Cybertron's last living Prime, but because he could see that Optimus' optics were questioning as he bent to give the Seeker the cube of energon, curiosity evident in each gleaming facet, each glowing millimetre of those bright cerulean visual receptors.

At that moment there was a scratch at Optimus' room door, and it opened to admit a silver mech slightly smaller than Bumblebee, but immediately recognisable to Starscream. He hid his surprise as Jazz entered, for the last time he'd seen the mech was when he was torn in two by Megatron in Mission City, but he recalled Jetfire detailing his own resurrection by the AllSpark in Sam. It made sense, he supposed, that if he could, Sam would have brought the silver saboteur back to existence, and the evidence suggested strongly that he had done just that.

Optimus served Jetfire next as Jazz wandered over to where the humans were sitting and, in an upper-crust British accent he'd obviously found somewhere online, asked Sam, Miles and Mikaela for pizza orders. The three humans told Jazz what they wanted, Mikaela while stifling giggles at Jazz's posh tones. The silver mech turned to exit, and then surprised Starscream by making a smart about-face to execute a polite bow, before leaving as quickly and quietly as he had come.

Ratchet deftly filled the remaining four cubes as Optimus and Bumblebee took one shipping crate and Ironhide and Ratchet the others. One of the crates in the middle held the humans, and Ratchet explained that as energon was corrosive to humans, the empty crate next to it, and only that one, should be used to set their cubes on if any of the Cybertronians wished to put them down.

"Now that the preliminaries have been dealt with, do you wish me to detail what has happened to me since you last saw me, Prime?" Starscream asked. Optimus, mid sip from his own cube, looked up, used his glossa to scoop up a stray drop in danger of dribbling down his chin, and said "Please do, Starscream, as the humans might say, I am all ears."

Having looked up slang on the human Internet for his dealings with Sam, and again that very day, Starscream quickly found the reference and its translation, but just for devilment tilted his head at Optimus from various angles until Sam said "It means he can't wait to hear, Starscream, he's not being literal."

"Oh, right," Starscream said, keeping up his pretence that he'd not understood.

He stood, feeling more happy standing in front of a captive audience. "Well, my Decepticons and I were stuck in something of a rut when Jetfire here arrived and told us about Sam having the AllSpark Essence, which, may I add, you kept from us when we had every right to know." He paused, thinking it was only fair to let Optimus reply to the accusation, which he did in his usual calm manner.

"Sam requested that we not inform you, for he was just getting used to the presence of AllSpark power himself, and was experiencing some difficulties in controlling it."

Sam winced, recalling the consequences of his 'difficulties' as he stood to back Optimus up. "Although I didn't say so at the time, I also feared that if you knew you might pull some sort of kidnap stunt, and my fears were right, you did!" he said.

"Point taken," Starscream said with a small chuckle as he nodded first to Sam and then to Optimus.

"As Jetfire talked to us, an idea took shape that we thought worth pursuing," Starscream continued, choosing not to drop Jetfire in it if he were to share some of the glory as well. He paused a beat to allow the bloody-minded oldster to claim sole responsibility if he so wished, as it _was_ originally his plan he had the right, but he didn't say anything so Starscream forged ahead.

"We decided that we had time, and did not need to rush things, for we needed Sam alive and well, but we'd wait for an opportunity to arise, no rush for what we intended, see, although in the meantime Jetfire helped to transfer those we did not need to Cybertron, where they could help sort out anything that we needed beforehand, like power, and oxygen-creating equipment."

"Cybertron?" Optimus queried, his optics twitching briefly wider in surprise, and Starscream hid a smile, for if the mere mention of their planet had startled Optimus, the rest of what he had to say was bound to get a bigger reaction still.

"Yes, as our plan involved both our beloved home planet, and Sam, whom we now knew contained the AllSpark Essence. When Sam called Jetfire, we hoped we could make a move, for although we had everything we needed at our Base, opportunities had not surfaced as fast as I might have liked."

This time it was Optimus' turn to hide a smile, for Starscream's impatience was legendary. He looked politely at Starscream and indicated for the Seeker to continue.

"When Jetfire returned with the human, we did as much as we could to reassure him, but it seems that our politeness itself was confusing him. As you know, we allowed him to contact you from our Base, and as he had begun drinking sedative-laced cola, we swiftly after were able to start the spacebridging of him and us to Cybertron. The medic, who sedated the boy more safely and effectively, travelled with Sam, and at a slower pace, after Jetfire took the rest of us to the planet to make sure all was ready."

"Was his disorientation less in your opinion, as a result?" Ratchet, ever the medic, asked.

"If you mean was I throwing up or not, then no, I wasn't," Sam replied before anyone else could reply.

"See, it worked!" Starscream picked up. "The boy was already confused and likely to become more so, so we tried to spare him some of the potentially unpleasant effects of a protracted spacebridge."

"Wish you'd thought to do the same for us!" said Mikaela sharply. "I've never been so sick as that in my life!" Miles beside her nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Sorry," Jetfire said, and he looked so contrite that, by mutual agreement, they waved it aside.

A scratch at the door announced Jazz's return, with several steaming pizza boxes in one hand, and three brace of soda in the other.

"Hope ya'll hungry," he said as Optimus took advantage of the interruption to take the six now-empty drinking cubes and refill them at his personal wall-mounted dispenser Ratchet had installed their first week there. "Not just for you, but for your mechs when you call them, and any mechs not yours you may need to speak to, like Starscream or Barricade," Ratchet had informed the Prime. At the time, Optimus had thought Ratchet was hoping for a bit much and had said so, but, he mused, the diplomat-turned-medic had been right.

Sam pulled a face. "We will be, but we'll let them cool, and maybe we can all forget we were talking about being sick," he said.

"Way to go with the timing, Jazz," Mikaela said jokingly as the silver mech put down the soda along with some plastic cups he'd thoughtfully brought.

"If ya don't want these, I'll take them," Jazz said, hefting the pizza boxes. "Hand-made, hand-stretched dough, Italian-Americans naturalised five generations back, old family dough recipe, very generous with all toppings -"

"Give!" Mikaela laughed, pointing imperiously to a space on the table between the three humans on the floor. Jazz put them down, caught up the cube of energon Optimus had drawn for himself, and disappeared out of the door. Unperturbed by his cube being shanghaied by the silver saboteur, Optimus found a spare in his desk drawer and filled it for himself.

"Anyway, as I was saying, we brought Sam to Cybertron, and by then the rest of the mechs had got power going, to light certain areas, and produce some oxygen so Sam could breathe," Starscream said. "We chose the Great Dome in Iacon that had been built for the AllSpark, both because it could be easily enclosed by an air-containing force-field, and because it seemed fitting,"

"Understandable," Optimus said.

"I myself was mystified," Sam interjected as he opened one of the pizza boxes, and was briefly obscured by a cloud of fragrant steam. "But Starscream told me that the Dome was built over a direct conduit to the Planet's core, and asked if I could use AllSpark power to try and contact the Planet, I guess he thought if I'd brought Jetfire back, I might be able to re-energise the Planet."

"indeed," Starscream said, smoothly taking up the story, and noticing with suppressed glee how the four Autobots in the office were leaning forward, as if what Starscream had to say would be obtained sooner if they did so, and for the first time he understood the human expression 'on the edge of his seat.'

"Sam was uncertain that the energy in his body was enough, so sent Jetfire back to get the energon collectors he reluctantly told us about," Starscream said, in his new role unwilling to drop Sam in it either.

"And us," Mikaela said pointedly.

"I said sorry," Jetfire said,

"And I accepted your apology, and so did Miles, I just want to keep things accurate," Mikaela said before taking a delicate mouthful of the pizza she'd claimed.

"Yes, and you, Mikaela and Miles, Sam needed company," Starscream said. "However, between then and now, Sam agreed to use the power of the AllSpark to try and resurrect the Planet," Starscream said.

"And he succeeded?" Optimus said. Sam would have answered, but his mouth was full of pizza so he couldn't. Starscream was the one who replied.

"No, he didn't," the Seeker replied, and the faces of three of the Autobot's faces fell. As Bumblebee's face was not as mobile as the others, no-one noticed how his faceplates didn't even shift.

"Then I guess that is the end of any hope we had of returning to our once-beautiful world," Optimus said heavily. Sam was chewing furiously, hoping to free his mouth enough to explain, and Bumblebee reached an arm out to get Optimus' attention, but again, Starscream beat them to it.

"Not quite, you didn't let me finish," the Seeker said petulantly. Three pairs of dimmed blue optics rose hopefully to meet Starscream's red ones.

"Because it turned out that the Planet was not dead, but had fallen dormant, healing its wounds and grieving for its people," Starscream explained. "Sam contacted it, and it has agreed to give us another chance, provided certain rules are followed."

"State them," Optimus said thickly, and Sam realised that Optimus was clinging to hope, even if the hope might turn out to be dashed a moment later.

Starscream's optics dimmed briefly as he sent the terms they had all agreed on, and that Starscream had cleared with the Planet when Sam had taken him to suggest a Sensitive Planet-speaker. Optimus suddenly sat up straight, his optics snicking wide open, and he almost overbalanced, only Bumblebee's quick reactions stopping the Prime from tumbling off the crate. Optimus swayed a bit, but then his gyros seemed to kick in, for he steadied again rapidly, as he raised one big hand to his forehead. If he had been human, Sam would have said he was stunned.

For a moment there was a pause, replete with tension, and then Optimus nodded his head and said "On behalf of the Autobots, Decepticon Leader Starscream, I accept." His acceptance was not delivered in the measured calm tones Sam was used to, but in the voice of one who was excited and trying not to let it show, almost as if letting it show would negate the cause.

There was a silence as tense as the pre-announcement pause, and then Ratchet said "On our behalf, Optimus you accept what? If it's in our name, we deserve to know." Optimus did not speak, or even com, but his optics were still at full dilation, and Sam swore he saw a slow, small smile turn up the sides of Optimus' mouth as he turned to look at the medic, who was probably now wondering if Starscream had sent Optimus something so unbelievable, or so mind-boggling, that it had sent the Prime mad.

"The Planet insists that if we are to live on it, we are not to war on its surface. It promises that there can be a third Golden Age if we do as it asks," Starscream said, impatient with the Prime's strange silence.

"Peace, Ratchet, the Planet wants peace," Optimus said, his optics still dazed and his voice with a slight edge of disbelief, although he seemed to have recovered his balance. "Our world is happy for us to return, and it will assist us as it did in the past, if we end our conflict and work together to rebuild it."

It was Ratchet's turn to reel back as he jumped to his feet and almost overbalanced. He recovered without needing help, and his excitement was uncontained. As a diplomat he'd worked so hard without success to broker peace, and as a medic he'd had to repair so many war-related injuries, and lost too many patients and colleagues to the war. He moved forwards and wrapped his arms around a startled Ironhide first, and then moved over to give Optimus a longer hug, which Optimus reciprocated.

"If you're giving those out, Ratchet, I'd like a hug too," Starscream said jealously. Ratchet and Optimus immediately released each other, and Ratchet happily moved towards the Decepticon Leader and performed the requested embrace. "Starscream, as one of those who made this possible, I could kiss you," Ratchet exclaimed, and then obviously decided to prove the statement, and his gratitude, locking his derma with the Seeker's for several minutes before they both came up for air.

"Ratchet, if you interface like you kiss, I'd like your room number," Starscream said with the grin he could not wear on his face evident in his voice.

"Speaking of which, if you're going to be here for any length of time, I should assign you rooms you can use," Optimus said. He paused, comming, and then said "Jetfire, you can have the room you had last time, Leader Starscream, yours is next door to his, or you can share if you wish."

"It will be useful to have separate rooms for separate pursuits, but we may recharge together, thank you," Starscream said, and as Ratchet belatedly came out of the embrace, the Decepticon Leader said "Alternatively, Ratchet, you know where my room is."

"We'll see after you finish telling us about how you got those markings and what they are," Ratchet said gruffly, hopping back onto the crate next to Ironhide, as Bumblebee and Optimus shared a grateful hug too.

"Oh, these?" Starscream said, indicating the silver and blue swirls that flowed over his sides and spiralled along the length of his wings, both front and back. "I have been chosen to be a Planet Speaker, a Sensitive who can speak to and consult with the Planet, and our world also stated an interest in you also being accorded the same honour, and patterning to signify this. If you and I are to govern the world together, and appoint others to positions as we need to, it is best that we are both able to contact our world to discuss and confirm things with it. Never again should we take a major course of action without the agreement of the planet we live on."

"Indeed not," Optimus said, sounding stunned again. "May I suggest a short break, so I may consider what you have said, for a joor? Maybe you will wish to rest, or talk among yourselves, or send a message back to Cybertron – to home – to tell the rest of your Decepticons how things are going, Decepticon Leader and Planet Speaker Starscream?" He put his hand to his head again. "I personally need a little time to process all the information you have brought, and for that information, I give great thanks."

Optimus, Ratchet and Ironhide filed out the office, the latter two discussing what they had been told excitedly. ("You can go back to blasting asteroids instead of Decepticons, Ironhide, and I can go back to treating rust-spots and dents instead of welding shut laser damage and removing shrapnel from cratered armour," Ratchet enthused.) Starscream looked at Jetfire and said "How about you show me where my room is, and then maybe we can compose a message for you to take to Cybertron, or close enough that they'll get it in less than a half-orn." They moved out, leaving just Sam, Mikaela, Miles, and Bumblebee.

"We must remember to insist on that get-out clause," Sam said. "But for now, what should we do?"

"Well, Sam, a joor is about six hours and thirty minutes, so you might want to visit your families, or even just go for a drive if you like," Bumblebee said.

"Let's do both," Sam suggested. "A short drive, then we go and see our parents, then get picked up to come back in six hours' time."

"Sure," Mikaela said, seconded a moment later by Miles. Bumblebee got off his crate, and reached down for the humans, who took their pizzas and climbed into the Autobot scout's hands. Bumblebee took them out to the Base courtyard, and put them down, before he transformed into Camaro form. It was early morning by now, and the weather was clear, the warm sun shining down from a sky the same shade of blue as Bumblebee's optics. The three humans got in, Miles gallantly taking the back seat, and Bumblebee started up and drove out, playing "Perfect Day" on his radio as he pulled out of the gates.


	15. Chapter 15

Lifesource.

Chapter Fourteen.

A/N: The two Decepticon medics mentioned, Dr Syn and Headfixer, are creations of writer MeowthTwo, and are used here with her knowledge and permission.

Three Months Later, Planet Cybertron.

"Wow," Sam said, as he was taken from the Dome, (once he'd recovered from the light sedation he required to bring him to the planet), into the nearest Guardian room.

Last time he'd seen the room it had been cluttered with Guardian cloaks and staffs, and populated by glitch mice. Now it looked quite different.

The cloaks, staff and mice were gone, a fluorescent stick was attached to the ceiling, and a long cord hung from it, which was easy to reach from the double bed that was in the middle of the room. The bed was not yet made, the bed linen, pillows and duvet sat folded on it, but Sam knew how to make a bed and would do so later. He had a wardrobe and drawer chest, and on that was a laptop computer and a music system, and when Sam went over to look, he found they were alive.

"They and several others agreed to function in their original capacity for you while you are here," Starscream, who was carrying him, said as Sam squeaked in surprise when both machines opened several optics each to look up at him. The laptop actually extruded several jointed legs to stand on as well. It was then that Sam saw the brand logos on them, and realised that these had to be some of the AllSpark babies he'd inadvertently brought to life at the electrical storm, seemingly an age ago, though it couldn't have been more than a year or so. He noticed a fridge as well, and wondered if that was sentient too.

Part of the room was curtained off, and when he looked, Sam saw a washroom and toilet. A pair of armchairs, a sofa, a coffee table and a bookcase with a few crumpled paperbacks finished the room off, and Sam idly wondered if there was a living e-book reader that might be willing to function in that capacity for him too.

"We've made you a place to sit on the dais, too," Starscream said, as Sam chucked his knapsack onto the bed. The Seeker turned on his heel, the silver and blue cape he wore billowing behind him impressively, taking Sam back out, and mounting the dais, which appeared to have been cleaned, looking brighter and more impressive than he remembered. From his vantage point he could see mechs standing around, Autobots and Decepticons both, and glimpsed two of the femmes he'd been told had arrived within the week too.

The main change was a silvery chair that seemed to have been almost extruded from the dais itself, with a soft pad on the seat. Someone, likely the medic Sam thought, had given his comfort a thought. As Starscream took Sam over and put him down by it, Sam saw it was a bit bigger than he had thought. There were, however, several steps up to it, and once he was sat in it, he found the sides padded with some soft cushioning, covered, like the seat pad, with a red velvet-like covering. Sam suspected that it had started life as a Guardian cloak, and when he tried it, found the whole arrangement was quite comfortable. It was so comfortable, in fact, that Sam decided that either the Planet or the Cybertronians, or a collaboration of both, had made it to measure. He knew Ratchet had scans of him, and the Decepticon medic Dr Syn, and suspected that both Barricade and Starscream did too.

'_This isn't a chair, this is a throne!'_ Sam decided, with a flush of embarrassment, and was about to tell Starscream he didn't need something so ostentatious and large, when he realised there was more to the throne than show.

Barricade, clad in a red and gold cloak, was stood beside the throne, and Sam realised that the black and white Decepticon only had to dip slightly to talk to him, and as he watched, Frenzy scrambled up the steps and unexpectedly plopped himself on Sam's lap. As Starscream lowered himself to a seated position (minus the seat) and locked his legs to hold himself in place, Sam realised the throne was the most effective way of being able to speak to Cybertronians of all sizes, for Starscream, too, was now in a better position for Sam, on the seat, to speak to him face-to-faceplates.

"Like?" asked Frenzy, bouncing up and down on Sam's legs? "Hate, no like, like?"

Sam realised the small mech was asking what he thought of it, and he said "It's more flashy and grand than I'm accustomed to, but I like that it puts me on a better level to those of you who are bigger, and that the smaller ones like you can reach me too."

Frenzy's reaction was to pull Sam's arm off one of the padded rests, and tug on it to show that it was a hinged cover over a recess. When Sam investigated the recess, he found candy bars and small bottles of soda inside, plus some small packs of tissues. Sam grinned and gave Frenzy a thumbs-up and checked the other arm himself, which held a similar recess, this one empty. He smiled again, a seat with storage space seemed like a good idea to him.

"Sam, you are coming to us as a friend, as a member if a different race, but one who houses the power of the AllSpark," Starscream said. "We Cybertronians are, what you humans might call 'suckers' for a good show, for ceremony and ritual, for occasion and pomp. We have had little enough cause, time, or occasion, plus the necessary austerity of war meant we could not then make the preparations we used to love. Please, let us indulge in it now, as we have many reasons to do so. You are, effectively, the AllSpark, and people should come to you in a setting that reflects how special to us in that capacity you are. "

"Cybertron lives again," Barricade intoned. "Our war with each other is over. The AllSpark has returned, inhabiting a life-form that is a member of a race we are working towards peace with, and hope to open trade links with in the future. The scattered people of the Planet are coming back to rebuild and recover. I can go back to composing music rather than warring and destroying. The first sparklings in millennia will be created whenever you are ready," he said. "One of those alone would be a cause for celebrations. Please allow us to commemorate all these things as best we can, now we are in a position to."

"Okay, yeah, I guess so," Sam said. "If that's what you feel you need, who am I to refuse?" he said, "Well, within reason, of course," he amended quickly

"We will include you in all decisions that involve you," Starscream said. "We thought to conduct the Sparkling Ceremony how we used to, with the prospective Creators bringing bodies to those of us who will act in Guardian capacity until there are enough of us here to train those who will make it their career."

"Why not let them come direct to me if they want?" Sam asked. "You made this seat accessible for all, so how about making _me_ accessible to all too?"

"If that is what you wish," Barricade said, after looking at Starscream and getting a nod, a slight note of puzzlement in his tone. "However, if we think any individual poses a risk to you, we may have to restrict their access to you. We do not want some individual deciding that by destroying you, they can make the AllSpark choose a Cybertronian to live in. We do not know if that would be the case, the AllSpark chose you, and may not transfer as hoped if you were destroyed, and we will not risk losing the AllSpark a second time."

"Okay, I guess so," Sam sighed. "Even our President, whom we swear loyalty to every day, has to be heavily guarded just in case someone tries to take a pop at him."

"Take a pop?" Barricade queried, a puzzled look stealing over his faceplates.

"Try to attack, with fists or weapons, Barricade," Starscream translated before Sam could draw breath to do so. Sam was surprised, and then remembered a few other instances recently where he'd used slang and not had to explain to Starscream. Perhaps the Seeker had been studying and memorising slang from the Internet? "But yes, Sam, once our numbers become so large we cannot personally guarantee each and every individual, we will have to be more wary of who we allow close to you. I am sure on your own world you have people who are not well in their head, who might attack for no apparent reason? We will likely be having war-damaged Cybertronians who may have problems with their processors or CPUs discovered upon their return."

"Yeah, war can do nasty things to the minds of our soldiers too," Sam said "and sometimes they never recover completely.

"Usually, glitches and damage to programming can be repaired, our own Headfixer is a processor doctor, but unless it's a special case, he cannot carry out any repairs or alterations without the owner's permission, though he is permitted to take a copy to locate and assess what damage there may be."

Sam noticed a nearby lemon yellow mech lift one shoulder when he looked at him, and was surprised to see him give a wink and a self-deprecating wry grin when he noticed the scrutiny, and wished some of the Military shrinks who's checked his stability of mind after Mission City were that personable.

"Wish it was that easy with humans, though there's already a lot of paranoia over the mental health diagnoses' too," Sam said.

"People here are scared of being completely reprogrammed, or not being permitted to be themselves, so Headfixer faces a lot of paranoia and fear because of his specialty too," Starscream said. Sam glanced the yellow mech's way again and noticed he was holding a conversation with his colleague, Dr Syn.

"I never thought about it, but I guess he would be feared if he has that ability, or if they perceive he does, even if he couldn't reprogram someone," Sam mused, feeling a pang of sympathy for the processor doctor.

"Oh, he could, he has the skills, but a total reprogram has never been done, at least not to my knowledge. Sometimes he has to reprogram certain stretches of code, to solve glitches or help overcome phobias, but he always discusses what he wants to do with the patient beforehand, why, and what effects that will have, and even then the patient can refuse, except in very rare cases."

"You mentioned that before, but what sort of circumstances would a mech or femme be forced to submit to treatment?" Sam asked.

"I don't know them all, Headfixer might, but I know a couple," the Seeker said. "If their injury or glitch made them dangerous to themselves, risking their destruction or self-immolation, or if the glitch caused them to attack others, for example if they had a piece of code that made them want to defend sparklings, for example, and some damage garbled it or changed it to translate as 'kill' instead of 'protect'."

"Could that actually happen?" Sam asked. "Code becoming damaged so it ends up reading the opposite to what it started?"

"It has happened, Sam, but so rarely that even I, or even your Bumblebee might have heard of them, so infamous have the occasions in question be, partly because of their rarity," Starscream said. "Is it not true on Earth that the most shocking crimes are widely reported, are partly so shocking because of how rarely they are committed?"

"Yeah, that's true," Sam said. He groped to remember what they had been discussing before they got onto Cybertronian mental health issues and their treatment. "Anyway, you were saying that at first people can approach me, but after a while you may have to check that the individuals can approach me for my own safety?" Sam said. "How will that be done? How will that work? That sounds like it'll be easier said than done."

"Not exactly," Starscream said. "We have stipulated that a full physical and processor scan will be a part of coming on to Cybertron. We can check the scans of all those who wish to approach you, and investigate anyone further whose scan suggests they may be a risk," Starscream said. "As I said, Headfixer is permitted to make a copy for diagnostic purposes, and he will, of every individual who wishes to remain on Cybertron for thirty days – the minimum time Cybertronians have to be resident on the Planet before being permitted near you. For your information, anyone who wants to request a sparkling from you also has a copy taken, to make sure having a sparkling is right for the mech or femme. We do not want a sparkling neglected because someone tires of it."

"I guess that makes sense," Sam said. "So, when will the first want-to-be Creators be coming to have Sparklings given?

Starscream dropped his upper body in an overdone bow, one arm extended and holding out his ornamental cloak, and said "That, AllSpark Sam, will be your choice. Everything is in readiness, you just need to let us know when."

Sam grinned. "Make any last-minute preparations you need to," he said, opening the candy-filled throne arm and extracting a Hershey bar. "Why wait? I'm refreshed and ready, so how about once I've eaten this?"

He looked up at the Seeker. "As we humans have been known to say on occasions, there's no time like the present."


	16. Chapter 16

Lifesource.

Epilogue.

A/N: Dr Syn belongs to MeowthTwo, and is used here with her knowledge and permission.

In fact, it took an hour for the Dome to be set up for the EnSparking ceremony. All present were politely asked to leave, before Starscream's two wing brothers, acting as temporary AllSpark Guardians, donned a cloak each in red and gold like Barricade's, as did Bumblebee, something Sam was pleased to note.

Barricade brought in a seat for himself, as he would play music for the occasion that he had composed himself. He had explained about this to Sam when the human had asked.

"I composed a new and special piece to play because this is a special occasion," the black and white frontliner/composer told Sam. "Music from both of the Golden Ages, and even from the Dark Ages for this sort of event do exist, there are, in fact, several different pieces from various times, that were used interchangeably before the war. However, as this is the first enSparking of what will be the third Golden Age of Cybertron, it is entirely appropriate for me to compose and play a new piece, which we can add to the file of existing music for future use."

"I guess so," Sam said, as Barricade set his chair at the foot of the dais, and took out his instrument. The item in question was stringed, but seemed to have keys, levers, knobs and buttons over its surface, and Sam decided it looked complicated. He heard various twangs, hums, chimes and whines as Barricade cradled it lovingly and, Sam assumed, began tuning it. As the police-car mech had played while Sam was trying to communicate with the Planet, he knew something of how the instrument would sound, the slow haunting melody Barricade had drawn from it then had certainly set the scene.

A long shimmering cloth was draped in front of Sam on the dais, then rolled down the steps and towards the entrance Sam was sure the prospective Creators would be entering, for the cloth looked like a pathway, a guide for those entering to follow. As Barricade began playing his special composition, Sam was surprised to hear that although it kept a sense of mystery, it was lighter, yet somehow still conveying a sense of magnificence and formality.

The first prospective Creator approached from behind a door opened with a flourish by Starscream. It was a large tank-alt mech Sam recalled was called Wreckage. He wore no cloak or metal ribbon like some Sam had glimpsed earlier, but did seem clean and even shiny for the occasion. He carried in his hands a small form, which, as he approached the dais, he held out to Sam as he bowed his head.

"I humbly beseech the AllSpark to grant me the gift of a sparkling, a gift I promise to cherish, and raise, as best as I can and to the best of my ability," Wreckage said. "If I take a mate, it will be with the understanding that the needs of the small one will be considered more important than either of ours." He stopped, still looking down, and Sam looked at the little body the tank-mech was proffering.

The body, Sam suspected, had been crafted by the Decepticon craftsmech-medic Dr Syn. It was silver and bronze, small arms and legs protruding bipedally from the body, the feet with caterpillar treads in miniature, based, it seemed, on Wreckage's own. The head seemed small, and the whole arrangement was androgynous: deliberately, Sam suspected. He saw it was too large to cradle in his arms, so stood and placed his hands over the chest, the usual location of the spark-chamber.

"Do you have a preferred gender?" Sam asked.

"A femme would be appreciated, but then, so would a mech," Wreckage said, slightly confused. Sam closed his eyes and concentrated on channelling a new Spark into the body. Sam did not see the blue coruscation that briefly haloed his body, but when it died down, Wreckage felt the small form move in his hands.

"You are now Creator to a beautiful little femme," Sam stated.

The look that lit up the tank-mech's face was one of total bliss, and a surprise to Sam, who had thought the Cybertronian's metal frames were not capable of more than the basic expressions. He hadn't known that Wreckage's face could reflect utter joy, but that was the only way Sam could describe it. Gathering the small clicking, moving, form, Wreckage bowed deeper than Sam knew he could with the armour of his alt form, said "Thank you so much, AllSpark!" and then hurried back off down the pathway as if scared Sam might change his mind.

Sam sat back, recovering his strength, barely registering that Barricade's playing had lightened, become more joyous. He closed his eyes for a few moments, and when he had opened them again, a mech and femme he did not know had started down the path.

Both bore sparkling bodies, and the femme was taller than the mech, an unusual situation on Earth, but, Sam supposed, not so unusual on Cybertron.

They reached the dais, and looked up at him, and then the mech spoke.

"I'm Highway, and my femme is designated Aurora," he said. "We have come to request two sparklings to rear, we can cope with two and have spoken about it with Ratchet."

Sam fekt a 'nudge' from the AllSpark, and blinked. A mech and a femme…both wanting sparklings…a mech and a femme…

Then it struck Sam, there was a pairing that he knew could create Sparks naturally, Cliffjumper and his Dad's Porsche after her Ensparking had done so, accidentally it was true, but they had produced a sparkling. They had the means, yet they were coming to him instead.

"Are you unable to bear naturally?" he asked the femme. Her optics widened in surprise.

"I have never tried to," she said, her voice soft.

"Why not?" he said. "I'm told that a mech and a femme can create sparks from their own energy."

"Yes, I am told that is so, but that is why we femmes had contraceptives built into our adult bodies, to stop that from happening by accident," she said.

"Can you not turn it off?" he asked. She looked scandalised at the suggestion.

"Why would I want to do that?" she asked. "Sparklings should only come from the AllSpark, I would not impose the shame of being femmeborn on my offspring!"

Sam didn't need the 'nudge' the Essence gave him to know that somehow, somewhere, this femme had been badly misinformed.

"Shame?" he repeated. "Being femmeborn should not be seen as being shameful, and neither should the femme who bore be seen as wrong to do so," he said. "The AllSpark has so much power and can do so much. It seems to me that if it didn't want femmes to Create, it wouldn't have made them able to Create. So, as femmes are able to Create if paired with a mech, or another femme, I would imagine it's because the AllSpark wanted them to be able to." Another mental 'nudge' told him he was right. He saw the femme looking at him uncertainly, and forged ahead.

"The AllSpark didn't want to be the only way, what if something went wrong, like it almost did? No, you are the children of the AllSpark, and it wants you to live and prosper, and part of that involves Creation! Do you really want to refuse the gift the AllSpark chose to share with you?" He saw the femme shake her head, and said "In which case, I will give you one sparkling to be started, and may I suggest that you and your mate go home and, as humans would put it, 'go forth and multiply?' Have the contraceptive turned off, and perhaps this little one will have a brother or sister in a few orns. Mech or femme?" he asked, indicating one of the bodies, both which were androgynous like the one Wreckage had bought, and may have also been made by Dr Syn.

"Mech, please," the femme said.

He placed his hand on one little body, which flared with blue light, and began clicking and squirming. The femme quickly cradled it to her, and smiled up at Sam.

"It shall be as you say, AllSpark, we shall try to have a second sparkling- she tried to repress her instinctive shudder "-naturally."

He half-stood, and patted her shoulder. She looked up at him, startled at the contact. "I know it probably won't be easy to overcome years and years of belief, but trust me, the AllSpark will bless your new arrival." He had a brainwave. "Highway and Aurora, right?" They nodded. "Bring your femmeborn to me once it's born, and I will publically give both you and it the AllSpark's blessing. This misconception needs to be debunked once and for all."

"Thank you," Aurora said, and she and her mate bowed low and retreated the way they had come.

Sam raised his hand in the Vulcan salute, his pre-arranged signal for a short eat-drink-pee break, and climbed down. After availing himself of his toilet, he scarfed down some more candy and a can of soda, and then raised his hand in the same salute to signify he was ready to continue.

He was surprised to see Optimus Prime advancing up the path, his body patterned with the blue and silver that signified his Planet Speaker status, his hands cupped. As he drew closer, Sam could make out the small form he bore.

"I am Optimus Prime, co-leader of the Cybertronians," he said, for other's benefit more than his, Sam thought, as he knew who Optimus was. The Prime extended his hands towards Sam. "I have been informed that my femme, Elita, is en-route, and request a sparkling for us both, so she can hold it and care for it once she is here without having to immediately Create after her long journey." Optimus shutter-winked and smiled at Sam. "I promise that Elita and I shall endeavour to provide siblings by uniting our own Sparks."

"Okay, great," Sam said. "Mech or femme?"

"Femme, please," Optimus said. Sam reached out and touched the body, this one Sam could see was deliberately child-feminine. When the blue light died down, everyone could see the sparkling squirming, and as they watched, she let out a loud cry.

"I hope to use her as a small ambassador for when we help negotiate treaties and trade between Earth and Cybertron, hence my choice to name her Terra Prima, or First of Earth," the Prime said. Sam put his hand on the sparkling's head, and said "Terra Prima, first ambassador to Earth, I bless you and greet you." Blue light flared briefly and the sparkling calmed down. The AllSpark, it seemed, had filled her fuel tank with sparkling grade energon.

"I'm sure she'll be a great ambassador," Sam said. "Humans love babies, and I imagine she will be no exception."

Sam realised he was feeling rather weary, made the wind-up sign with his hand, another agreed signal, and said "tomorrow" to Skywarp, who immediately raised his voice.

"Apologies gentlemechs and femmes, the AllSpark's chosen vessel must rest, but has invited you all to come tomorrow, where he will endeavour to give as many of you as he can, without destroying himself, the sparklings you have requested." Sam waved him down and whispered in his audio, and Skywarp straightened up with a smile.

"He also reiterates what he told Aurora: there is no shame in femmes bearing. Consider it a gift from the AllSpark, and he asks those who can to 'go forth and multiply.' His offer to Aurora is open to everyone. He will individually bless the femmeborn if you Create and then bring them to him."

As the waiting mechs and femmes began to disperse, Sam heard a murmur of conversation. He hoped that the Cybertronians had taken his words to heart, there was nothing wrong with merging two Sparks to Create, the AllSpark had indicated that to him very clearly.

Anyway, on a purely selfish note, it meant less work for him.


End file.
